Gate of the Eternal Guardian,Tenebre!
by KanaeHitomi
Summary: How would you feel if you suddenly found out that you have a guardian half angel half demon who so happen to be your sister,and that you are under some sort of curse and some psycho demon is after you? Join Lucy as she is thrown into another adventure filled with pain,laughter and love as she journey through the worlds .Contains some OCs ,slow NaLu fic, FIRST FIC! READ AND REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1 - Calling

Chapter 1: Calling

**Heya people! As promised,chapter 1 is out! I hope ya all pardon any spelling/gramatical errors and if ya all happen to find any just feel free to tell me,and like i said in the introduction this is my first fanfic so feel free to shoot me with anything that you guys think might help my story. Now i officially present to you Chapter 1! This is after the Starry Sky Arc and before the GMG arc. ( updated 06/06/13 )**

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**Chapter 1 : The Calling**

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**Lucy's POV ( in dream )**

Where am i?

I feel like i'm floating in mid-air...

.

.

.

Wait...mid-air?

.

.

.

HOLY MAVIS ! I AM IN MID-AIR! I'M GONNA FALLLLLLLLL!

.

.

.

Wait...I'm n-not falling?

I pried open an eye, to find myself floating above the clouds, the stars shining brightly down on me. Am i in a dream? But it feels way too real to be a dream.

_"Lucy..."_

"Kyaa! W-who's t-t-there?"

_"Find her ,Lucy..."_

"F-Find who? W-who are y-y-you?"

_"Find her ,Lucy...FIND HER ..."_

With those two words,the night sky was suddenly stained with the color of blood,screams of terror and agony could be heard from below the clouds.

I felt something grab my leg before i was pulled down from the sky ,a scream was stuck in my throat as i pummelled down to Earthland,no matter how much i tried to scream,it wouldn't come out,not until i could get rid of the horrible sight below.

Everything was in flames,buildings were obliterated,dead,bloodied bodies littered the floor,

young and old,dead,

_thump_

male and female,dead,

_ThUmP_

big and small,dead

_THUMP_

As i continued my downward journey towards the heart of Magonolia, i heard two screams of anger and grief,one of which tore at my heart, for it was so...so _familiar_,

"LUCY!"

I looked at the direction of the screams, i saw 3 shadowed figures, one of the figures was being cradled in the arms of another figure while the other on was...what was he/she doing...i can't see,the light is too bright...TOO BRIGHT!

And finally,i could scream

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

**Normal POV **

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Lucy cried as she woke up in cold sweat,her fist clenching at the sides her damp blouse.

"I'm b-back..." she panted in fear and apprehension.

" W-what was t-t-that? Was it a dream? Or a nightmare? But it felt so...so...real." She though to herself while gripping the sides her head with her hands,slowly curling up into a fetal position as she tried to stable her breathing.

"It's just a dream... It's just a dream... " Lucy said to herself in a mantra till she slowly started to drift to sleep.

Unknown to her, a certain pink-haired dragon was slayer listening to her entire episode,"Lucy..."

**The Next Day ( Lucy's POV )**

Its was warm, too warm, my eyes snapped open as i screamed the first thing that came into my mind,

"NATSU!GET OUT OF MY BED!"

I gave him a full powered 'Lucy Kick' in the gut as i quickly gathered up my blankets to hide my face before he could see my face rapidly turning into the colour of a tomato.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED!?"

"Jeez,Lushee,are you always this loud in the morning? I'm still wanna sleep~" Natsu said while rubbing his eyes,he looks so cute,almost like a 5 year old...wait...DID I JUST CALL HIM CUTE?! NOOOOO LUCY,DO NOT SUCCUMB TO HIS CUTENESS!

Lucy thought to herself while shaking her head to rid herself of such thoughts.

"Natsu,what were you doing in my bed AGAIN?"

"But Lusheeee~ Your bed is so comfy,this is the best sleep i've got in years" Natsu pouted as he said it,i felt my face start to heat up again,

" I'm going to wash up. " i stood up abruptly and without another word,i made my way to the bathroom after taking my clothes,

" Luigi is so weird... " Happy said when i reached my bathroom door,my eyebrow twitched,

"I'M NOT WEIRD,AND FOR THE LAST TIME,IT'S L-U-C-Y,LUCY! OK? NOT LUSHEE OR LUIGI FOR MAVIS SAKE!" i screamed at him before slamming the door in his face.

Sigh,losing my temper bright and early in the morning,this is so not me,maybe Natsu is starting to rub off me,i thought to myself as i started my daily routine of showering,shampooing with my strawberry and vanilla soap,brushing my teeth and then tying my hair into pigtails.

"Yosh,i'm all set!" Smiling at myself in the mirror, satisfied with my appearance,

I was feeling much better until i saw Natsu and Happy raiding my fridge,

"Lushee,do you have any fish?" Happy said as he floated lazily around my kitchen,

"Lushee,i'm hungry!"

"Aye! Me too!" The both of them whined,

I sighed inwardly at myself, ,they can be such a handful at times, but then again, it's NATSU and HAPPY, they're always a handful, i felt a smile crept up my face as i thought this,

"Hai hai,i know,just let me prepare the ingredients first."

"Yay!"

"BUT,both of you have to help wash the dishes,no excuses ok?" I glared at them as i said this, making sure to get my point through,

"A-aye sir!" They squeaked, saluting at me, satisfied, i set out to make breakfast.

**Time Skip,after cooking and eating breakfast (Lucy's POV )**

"Ahh! That was a good meal! Thanks Lucy!" Natsu said this while giving me his signature toothy grin.

I felt my face slowly heat up,why does his smile always have that effect on me?

" It's nothing, And i've also gotten used to it since the both of you always seem to appear from out of nowhere for breakfast." I said, glaring at them,

"Lushee's scary,Natsu."

"What did you say you damm neko?!"

"Lushee going to eat meeeeeeee!" Happy flew out the window before i could get my hands on him, urgh, i'll make him into a scarf the next time i get my hands...

_"Find her ,Lucy..."_

"Eep!What was that!" I squeaked,

"What was what Luce?" Natsu looked at me in confusion,

"T-that v-voice i heard just now..."

"What voice?I didn't hear anything." Natsu started looking at me weird, " Are you ok Luce? Do you need me to get Wendy?"

Wait,I heard that line somewhere before,where did i hear that before?

_young and old,dead,_

_thump_

_male and female,dead,_

_Thump_

_big and small,dead_

Those horrible scenes suddenly flashed in front of my eyes, and i felt myself slowly fall forward,

_"FIND HER..."_

"Luce...LUCE! Snap out of it" A pair of warm arms caught hold of me, snapping me out of my daze,

" N-Natsu...?"

"Luce are you ok?! " He shook me, concern on his face, "You looked like you were about to faint for a moment."

Should i tell Natsu, no, it'll make me look weirder than he already thinks i am.

" I-I'm fine Natsu! See,perfectly fine! I just... didn't get enough sleep last night. " i faked a smile, to show that i was feeling fine,even if i wasn't.

"Okay...", he didn't seem convinced to me,

" Let's go to the guild then! I'm sure Gray is already there,just waiting for you to bash him into a pulp!", i saw his face brighten up when i said this.

Good,he took the bait.

" Really! Yosh! I'm all fired up! I'm coming for you, you stupid exibitionist! Let's go,Happy!" he jumped out the window screaming,earning weird looks from the people below.

"Aye Sir!"

"AT LEAST USE THE DOOR YOU IDIOT!" I shouted at him, but the both of them were soon out of my sight.

Sigh,he's finally gone,but what was that just now?

Strapping my key pouch and my whip to my waist, i made my way to the guild, unable to remember where i heard that from and unable to forget the horrible scenes that i just saw.

**Natsu's POV**

Hmm,Luce was acting weird just now,wait,she's always weird,ARGH,thinking too much is not good for me!

"Ne,Natsu?" Happy looks worried too,"What happened just now,with Lucy? She looked so pale,and when i looked into her eyes,i saw fear,no,something much greater than fear in her eyes. I've never seen her looked so scared before,Natsu."

So Happy feels the same way as me, was it related to why she screamed bloody murder last night? It was as if she was tortured and in immense pain when she screamed last night,

" We'll ask her what happen when we see her at the guild,maybe she would be willing to tell us then!"

"Aye Sir!"

"Yosh! Let hurry up to the guild then!"

"Aye Sir!"

**Time Skip ( at Fairy Tail,Normal POV )**

"Flame Brain!"

"Popsicle!"

"Ash for Brains!"

"Pervert!"

"Squinty Eyes!"

"Droopy Eyes!"

CLANG!

"NAKAMA DON'T FIGHT EACH OTHER!"

"AYE SIR!"

"Ara ara~ Boys are so energetic aren't they Lucy? Lucy?" Mira started waving her hands in front of Lucy, who was stirring her milkshake in a robotic motion,

"Huh? Oh,what did you say again,Mira?"

"A fairy for your thoughts Lucy?" Mira smiled at Lucy in a motherly manner,

"Haha,nice one Mira." Lucy smiled tiredly at Mira,"It's nothing, i've just not been getting enough sleep these days and my rent is coming up so i just a little stressed."

Mira frowned at Lucy," Didn't you and Team Natsu just went for a mission two days ago?"

This time it was Lucy's time to frown," We DID complete the mission,but most of the reward went to repairing damaged buildings,so i still don't have enough to pay my rent, sigh, what am i going to do!" wailed Lucy as she gripped the side of her head, Mira smiled at Lucy, knowing full well of Lucy's predicament, since it happens almost everytime Team Natsu goes for a job.

"Sigh,maybe i should try going for a solo job..."

"Well,a new batch of jobs just came in so maybe you would like to try a simple one that can cover the rest of your rent?" Mira offered,Lucy seemed to consider this for a moment,and then "Thanks Mira,i'll go look for a simple one then!"

Lucy smiled at Mira,she then made her way to the mission board, passin Cana who was finishing her 5th barrel of the morning as well as Levy who waved happily at her before returning to her book.

As usual, Nab was standing there, looking for a job that only he can do, as Lucy looked through the mission board, all she saw were jobs like 'exterminating a wyvern' or 'defeating a band of bandits' etc etc, Lucy sighed as she thought to herself, clearly underestimating herself,

" These are too hard for me, I'm too weak to deal with jobs like this"

As she neared the last few mission slips, one caught her eye, she immediately snatched it up and looked through the details of the mission,it said:

**Experienced mage needed!**

**Retrieve a rare ore with healing properties from within the mountains of the Land of Isvan**

**More information would be provided by the mayor of the Land of Isvan**

**Reward: 100,000 jewels**

**Required: magic that can bury through the ground**

Lucy thought,"Hmm,magic that can bury through the ground,sounds like a job i can do with Virgo,it sounds pretty easy too!",she took the mission slip and walked to Mira.

"Mira! I'm taking this job!"

"Just a moment Lucy! I'm busy with something here!" Mira shouted from the kitchen behind the bar, "Tell me the details of the job,i'll record it in the book later!"

"Hai! Its about retrieving a rare ore with healing properties at the Land of Isvan! I'll get packing then! Mira,help me tell the currently unconscious Team Natsu that i'll be back soon!"

"Okay Lucy,take care of yourself okay? Bye Lucy!" Mira shouted back.

"Hai,i'll take care of myself! Bye Mira!"

As Lucy skipped out of the guild, Mira came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron, thinking,"Hmm,what did Lucy tell me just now..."

**Time skip ( Lucy's house, Lucy's POV )**

"Gate of the virgin,I summon thee,Virgo!"

The sound of bells and and a POOF alerted me of Virgo's arrival,"Is it time for my punishment,Hime?" Sigh, here we go again,

"NO! For the last time i'm not going to punish you! Anyways, can you help me pack for my mission? I need to leave very soon."

"Yes,Hime." And within minutes,,i was packed and ready to go.

**Meanwhile,back at the guild ( Normal POV )**

"Luce! Lucy! Where are you?! Oi,Ice Breath,have you seen Lucy?" Natsu shouted across the guild at Gray,

"Nope i haven't seen her anywhere...wait...WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME PINKY?!"

"Hmm,Gray too,maybe i should ask Mira..." Natsu ignored Gray's angered exclamation, and approached Mira,

"Ano,Natsu-san?" Wendy said, walking toward him as Charla floated behind her, clearly trying her best not to knock Happy away with the fish in his hands,

"Oh,its you Wendy,what is it?" Natsu said half heartedly, his mind clearly preoccupied,

"Lucy-san just went for a mission,i heard her shouting to Mira about it." Wendy said shyly, pointing at the mission board,

"LUCY WENT ON A MISSION WITHOUT ME?! MIRAAAAAA! WHERE ARE YOU?!" He shouted as he stormed towards the bar counter,

"Ara ara,what do you need Natsu? Another fire whisky?" Mira smiled a bright smile, though it fadded a little when she saw the angry look on his face, " Is something wrong?"

"WHERE IS LUCY HEADING TO?"

"Hmm, i have no idea Natsu, i was in the kitchen when she said something to me about a mission, but i can't remember the details... thats strange,i never forget things like this."

"Ano,Mira-san,i heard that it was a mission that required a mage to retrieve a rare ore that has healing properties..." Wendy added in, trying her best to sooth Natsu,

"Oh really Wendy? Thanks for your help,now give me a moment,i'll check where she's headed." Mira looked through the mission log, as she mumbled to herself,

"Hmm,rare ore...rare ore...retrieval job...retrieval job...Eh? There is no such job like that recorded in here! "

"WHAT?!" Natsu's outburst of rage caught Erza's and Makarov's attention, curious, both of them made their way to the bar counter where Natsu,Gray,Wendy and Mira were.

"What's the matter here?"

"Master,we have an emergency! Lucy just went on a job that was not in our missions log!" Mira waved her hands frantically at the mission log book,

"What?! How long ago did Lucy leave,Mira?!" Makarov exclaimed,

"She left 15 mins ago, Master."

"Do have any idea where she could have gone to?" He asked, and Mira shook her head,

" My head is foggy for some reason..."

"If i'm correct,i heard Lucy-san say some thing about the Land of Ivan? No,Isvan? Yea! Thats right,The Land of Isvan!" Wendy said,

"The Land of Isvan,Hey! That's where Ur trained Leon and me!"Gray said, walking over from behind them in all his naked glory.

"Gray-san...your clothes..." Wendy covered her eyes, her face a cute shade of pink,

Gray looked down, and blanched,

"Huh? Wha? When did this happen?!" Gray screamed while scrambling to retrieve his clothes.

"Hmm,the Land of Isvan eh? This is earlier than expected..." Makarov muttered to himself,

"Is something the matter,Master?"

"Eh? Oh its nothing, Erza."

Makarov cleared his throat, and announced,

"This is an emergency, I want Team Natsu together with Wendy and Charla to head to the Land of Isvan now to get Lucy back, Gray will be your guide since he know Isvan best,now hurry up,GO!"

"Yes master!"

"Luce,we're coming for you!" Natsu exclaimed, practically flying out the guild doors, leaving small trails of flame in his wake.

**On the train to the Land of Isvan, (Lucy's POV)**

"Princess,are you sure you want to go solo for this job? I don't want anything to happen to my dearest princess?" I rolled my eyes as Loke this in his usual overdramatic princely manner, and sighed,

" Yes,for the 29th time already,i'm fine with going solo for this job, and Loki, STOP CALLING ME PRINCESS!"

"Yes, princess." He clearly ignored my comment, "You look kinda pale, princess, do you want to take a nap while i keep watch on you? I'll wake you up when we reach." He offered, this time he smiled a genuine smile, not one of his playful ones,

"Now that you mention it, i am kinda tired, thanks Loki." I yawned,

"Anything for you,my princess,now sleep."

As i felt my eyes start to droop, the last thing i saw was of a winged figure and the two words:"FIND HER..."

**Meanwhile,deep in the Moutains(? POV)**

"She coming,am i right Master?"

_"Yes...she is...finally...the gears of fate are finally shifting aren't they...Layla..."_

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**Yosh,I'm finally done with Chapter 1! How was it! Lemme know though the awesome review button below! I knoooooow ya wannna click on it! ^.^ Just to let you guys know,i'll be updating on a weekly basis! Yay for you! And if you want to know how my OC looks like,just leave a review and i'll have it up in a jiffy!I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter! Do look forward to Chapter 2!**

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**Preview on Chapter 2:**

" I'm finally here!"

"I can't smell Lucy!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"This...this...this is her house..."

_"You're finally here..."_

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**Disclaimer: Any simlarity to any other fanfics is purely coincidental,and i...sigh...do not own Fairy Tail in any way,if i did,Natsu won't be so dense,he'll be much DENSER,tehee ^.^**

**Natsu: WHAT WAS THAT!**

**KanaeHitomi: AAAAAAA! Help meeeeeeee!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	2. Chapter 2 - Meeting

**Kanae : Heya people! Welcome to Chapter 2 of GOTEG:Tenebre! I kinda made a shorter version of the title as its quite a mouthful to say it all the time -.-" . I hope you guys realised the change in summary as i realised that the previous one didn't really make sense,now,i have invited a guest to help me with the opening! I present ...(drumroll) HAPPY!**

**Happy : AYE !**

**Kanae: Is there anything you would like to say,Happy?**

**Happy: Aye! I hope you make me appear more in this chapter! And maybe put me and Charla togeth-**

**Kanae: LOOK,FISH! ( points)**

**Happy: Where?! I'm coming for you! ( flies away)**

**Kanae: Whew,that was close,i almost got into a sticky situation,now,without further ado,i present to you, Chapter...**

**Happy: You tricked me! There wasn't any fish!**

**Kanae: Opps,ipresenttoyouChapter2!(runs away)**

**Happy: Get back here! **

**( Updated 07/06/13 )**

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**Previously on GOTEG:Tenebre :**

"Who are you?"

_ "Find her..."_

"Maybe i should go for a solo mission..."

"What did Lucy tell me just now?"

"We have an emergency!"

"LUCY!"

_"The gears of fate are finally shifting aren't they...Layla..."_

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Chapter 2 : Meeting

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**Land of Isvan ( Lucy's POV )**

"Yay we're finally here!" i exclaimed as i stretched my body,whew,that was one LONNNNG train ride,i hope i can finish this job quickly so i can hurry back to the guild to see Nat...NOOOO! WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT HIM?!

"Hime,are you ok? Why are you shaking your head like that?"

"Eh? Its nothing! Nothing at all,Loke,i was just...urm...shaking off my dizziness,yes,that's right!"

"Oh really...", I saw an evil glint in his eyes,what is he planning...

It wasn't long till my feet were swept from beneath me and i felt myself get lifted by a pair of arms, bridal style.

"HIII! Loke! Put me down now!"

"But Lucy~ Didn't you say you were dizzy?" Loki said, feigning innocence," As you knight in shining armor,its my duty to make sure that your..."

"Shhhhh! Ok ok! Just get me to the mayor's house as soon as possible." I quickly covered his mouth, shutting him up, " According to the mission slip,the mayor lives at the house nearest to the base of the mountain."

"Yes,Hime!"

Sigh,this is going to be a long mission... I thought to myself as he walked down the street, still not letting me down.

As Loke walked through the city of Isvan,we started getting looks from the people there, especially from the girls.

"Ne,isn't that guy hot?"

"So desu ne! But what is he doing with a girl like her,look,the one in his arms."

"Hmm,she's not bad either..."

Oh Mavis,i better get out of here before a horde of fangirls come after me.

"Loke,can we hurry up? I don't like the looks we're getting from the girls here."

"Oh~Hime! Is that jealousy i'm hearing? Oh Mavis! Finally my beloved Lucy has fallen in love with me!"

I mentally rolled my eyes,here we go again...

"JUST GET ME THERE ALREADY!"

**Meanwhile,on the train to the Land of Isvan ( Normal POV )**

"Eurgh,i feel sick..." moaned Natsu,looking a shade of green that would put a newborn sprout to shame.

"You alllllllways feel sick on transport,flame brain." Gray snickered,

"What you say?! Urgh...i feel sick again..."

"I'm so sorry,Natsu-san! I can't cast Troia on you! Erza-san specifically told me to only use it when you really need it or you might build up a resistance against it." Wendy started to bow furiously to Natsu.

"Blurg...damm you Erza..."

Erza rolled her eyes," Oh Mavis,Natsu come here would you?"

"Wha? Urgh... no tha.."

Before Natsu could say another word, Erza pulled him by his scarf,and rammed him against her armor,and Natsu became unconcious.

"Opps,did i pull him to hard?" Erza asked with a dangerously innocent facade. Gray,along with Happy,Wendy and Charla shook their heads so hard,they were afraid that it'll drop off.

"Oh,thats good." As Erza went back to enjoying her strawberry shortcake,Gray and Happy visibly relaxed,as though the sky had been lifted from their shoulder,while Wendy and Charla went to check if Natsu was okay and to put him in a more comfortable position.

Then the train screeched to a stop."What just happened?" Gray asked,still oblivious that his clothes were being used as a pillow/drool soaker by Natsu.

_Bzzt~_

_Dear passengers,we're sorry to inform you that there will be a slight delay due to some technical issues with the engine,we urge all passengers to be patient as we try to fix this issue as quick as possible,we thank all for their consideration and for taking Kozern Railways._

_Bzzzt~_

"Kozern? Isn't that Lucy's Father's company?"Gray inquired.

"Maybe someone bought it when Lucy's Father lost the business?" Erza added in,

"Ano,Erza-san,what's this about Lucy's Father owning Kozern? I've only heard that she was from a rich family and a heiress."

"Well,its ex-heiress,to be exact,but...here's how it all started..."

**Meanwhile,at the house beneath the mountains ( Normal POV )**

Lucy looked up from the mission slip and at the cabin in front of her,

"This is the place,isn't it?"

"Seems like it,but doesn't it look like a house a mayor would normally NOT live in?" Loke frowned as he scrutinised the cottage before him, his eyes narrowing in distrust.

Currently,both Lucy and Loke are standing in front of the 'mayor's' house,which is small cottage at the bottom of the mountain,but the problem here was,this house was situated far FAR away from the main road of the city of Isvan,and it was considerably smaller than the smallest house in town thus,it certainly did NOT look like a house in which a mayor would live in.

"Wouldn't a mayor normal live in the middle of the city? And in a house that would normally scream, 'Hey-there!The-person-living-here-is-mayor-of-this -town!' ?" Both Lucy and Loke looked at each other,shrugged their shoulders,then looked back at the cottage,

"Oh well,if its stated in the mission slip,this must be our client then,Loke,you can go back to the spirit world now,i might need your help later,so i need you to save your energy for later. Thanks for your help so far!" Lucy smiled at Loke warmly.

"Anything to see my beloved Hime's smile!" Loke smiled back at Lucy before returning back to the spirit world in a puff of gold dust.

"Well,let's get this job done and over with!" Lucy encouraged herself, and proceeded to knock on the door.

"Konichiwa! Is there anyone home?" Lucy shouted while knocking on the door,when she was about to knock for the 5th time,the door creaked open,revealing a short yet chubby looking old man.

"Yes, there's someone at home,may i know who are you?" he said is a shaky voice,looking up at me.

"Hai! My name is Lucy Heartfilia and i'm the mage from Fairy Tail that accepted your job." Lucy smiled as she said this, showing him the guild mark on her hand.

"Oh,that's quick! I didn't expect someone to respond to my request so quickly! Come on in! My,looks like the rumors about Fairy Tail being a laid back guild is not true afterall!" Lucy sweatdropped,

"Hahaha...Yea...Fairy Tail is a very(cough)hardworking(cough cough) guild! The next time you have any more requests,look for Fairy Tail for help!"

"Ah,what a nice lady! Looks like the other rumor about Fairy Tail mages being extremely violent and rude is also not true then!" Lucy almost choked on her own saliva,

"Not violent? " she thought incredulously to herself,

"Ahem,now back to business,this ore that i'm sending you to look for,as you already know,have healing properties,and i can't get it myself as i have a slight fracture on my hip here," he pointed at his right hip," and this makes it incredibly hard to move,so thats why i sent for you."

The mayor then looks at Lucy intently, " So,please,help me find this ore so that it can heal this hip of mine!"

"That's what i'm here for...urm...pardon me,but it seems like i've forgotten to ask for your name sir...?"

"Oh,pardon me as well! I've forgotten to introduce myself,the name's Vindrew,Vindrew Aser."

"Hai, Mr Aser, are there any details about the ore that you can tell me about?" Lucy inquired while taking out her quill and her notebook, ready to jot down important information.

"Hmm,as far as i know, it is the size of a baby's fist,has a blueish-green hue and it's located at the mountain where a great ice-mage used to live at, see, the one in the middle." Vindrew pointed at the mountains before him,outside his window.

"Hai,thank you for the information,i shall get moving then! See you later,Mr Aser,it's been a pleasure meeting you!" Lucy smiled at him before bowing,then she trudged through,the snow,heading for the moutains.

When nothing but Lucy's footprints were left, Vindrew sighed a sigh of relief, "Whew,acting old sure is tough! But the enchantment on the mission slip sure is working well! She not suspecting a thing, like how an old man with a hip problem could escort her to the door without limping, you sure know how to make spells like these don't you,Master..."

As he stepped out into the snow, his appearance melted away ,instead of a short and chubby old man, a sea-green haired teenager with a well built body stood where the old man used to be.

He was wearing a greenish-black trench coat with scale patterns on it with a simple black tee with dark brown jeans with combat boots.

"Ahhh! It's good to be back in my real form! Time to head back then,that Lucy girl should be close to there by now." As he walked,a snow storm blew up behind him,erasing all signs of Lucy or him being there.

**Railway station at Isvan ( Normal POV )**

"LANDDDD! OH HOLY LANDDDDD!" Natsu screamed as he pracically flew out of the train carriage and landed face-first on the dirt,

"Oi,Flame Brain! Can you stop that?! Urgh,it's do embarrasing to be around this idiot..." Gray sighed as he shook his head,

"WHAT YOU SAY ICE PRINCESS?!"

"YOU WANNA GO ASH FOR BRAINS?!"

"BRING IT ON..." Natsu's voice faded as he sensed a demonic aura behund him,and in a split moment,both of them had their arms around each other,putting on a scared-happy face while dancing,

"W-w-we're n-not f-f-f-fighting E-E-Erza! S-see! We're b-b-best of f-friends!" Gray tried not to stammer under Erza's threatening gaze/aura,but obviously failing at it as his legs were shaking so hard,you could hear it in his bones,

"A-Aye Sir!" Natsu said while mimicking Happy,Erza's aura increased in intensity,making Gray and Natsu even paler than they were,both of them were sweating buckets by now,

As Erza's aura grew bigger and Gray and Natsu have seemingly shrunk in size,Wendy intervened,

"Ano,Erza-san? I'm so sorry to interrupt you,but every minute we spend here Lucy's getting further and further from us..."

Before Wendy could finishher sentence,Erza directed her glare to her,Wendy squeaked and ran to hide behind a nearby pillar,"I'M SO SORRY!I'M SO SORRY!I'M SO SORRY!I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SOR..."

Erza sighed as she turned off her aura,she approached Wendy and kneeled down till she was at eye level with Wendy,"I'm sorry for getting mad at you for no reason,Wendy,please hit me." Erza said seriously,making Gray,Natsu,Happy,Charla and Wendy sweatdrop,

"There's no need for me to hit you,Erza-san,i just want to find Lucy-san quickly..."When Erza heard this,she stood up suddenly,startling Wendy,as she shouted,"Gray,Natsu,Happy,ASSEMBLE!"

One moment Gray and Natsu were still arm in arm dancing a happy dance,and the next they stood in attention in front of Erza,

"Yes Ma'am!" they shouted back,capturing the attention of passerbys,

"Natsu, try to smell Lucy out, Gray,lead us when i tell you to, Happy and Charla, fly up and see if you can spot Lucy, and Wendy," Erza looked at her, pausing for a moment to breath,

" Climb up on my luggage,i'll pull you there. NOW GET MOVING! "Afraid of catching her wrath,they scrambled to get their jobs done, Happy and Charla flew above all of them, trying to get a glimpse of a blonde head while Natsu was sniffing up and down for Lucy's scent,as he picked up on something, he got into action,

"She's this way! Let's go!" With this,they thundered their way to the base of the mountain.

**Time skip,at base of the moutain( Natsu's Pov )**

I smell Lucy's scent,She was here! But...

"Her scent ends here,I can't smell Lucy anymore!" i reported to Erza,dragging her luggage pile with Wendy on it,with a tired looking Gray behind them,HA,what a whimp!

I saw Gray face pale as he looked at the cottage before us,as he stumbled towards it, putting a trembling hand on the door frame,"This...this...this is her house..."

"Her? Who's her?"

"You flame brained idiot, i can't believe you forgot, this is her house, Ur's house, my mentor."

"The one who killed Deliora?! What was Luce doing here?"

"How am i supposed to know you idiot!"As i bickered with Gray,Wendy opened the door and sniffed,"There's another scent here,together with Lucy-san's scent,it smells like," she sniffed the air again," Snow,and,sniff sniff,scales? Snifffff,yep,definitely scales,snake scales."

I looked at Wendy and sniffed the air,the scent of snow entered my nose,as well as the scent of Lucy and scales, hmm,something else is in it,as i followed its trail, it led me to a spot in the snow,a few meters from the house,the smell is faint, but still here,as i took a whiff of it, i was shocked, light and darkness? How can the scent of light be mixed with darkness? As i tried to get a better whiff of it, a blizzard suddenly blew up around me, blowing me back in the direction of Ur's cottage, as i landed with a thud, Gray pulled me into the house,

"Hey! Let go of me! LET ME GO!"

"Oi Pinky! You wanna die?! The search for Lucy can wait after the blizzard's over,what's the point in searching for a nakama when another get's lost in the process?!"He shouted at me, "We'll stay here until the blizzard's over."

As Gray's words sink into my head, all i could think about is whether Lucy could be caught in this blizzard, the thought of her freezing to death made my stomach clench painfully, as well as my chest.

As i sat down on the couch, earning myself a weird look from Gray, i started to ponder over my jumbled up emotions, why do i always feel this way when i think about Lucy? When she smiles, a tornado of butterflies would erupt in my stomach, making me feel all light and tingly, when she cries, i just want to wipe away her tears with my hands and to kill the person who made her cry, and i hate it when she's hurt, i feel like i can lose control of myself, to break the person's bones one by one and to burn him into dust, why do i feel this way?!

As my feelings gets more heated up by the minute, i feel a paw on my shoulder, i look up from my hands to see Happy, looking as depressed as i am,

"She'll be ok,Natsu. Lushee's a strong mage! And she has Loke with her,she'll be fine!" He said optimistically,

I tried to believe Happy's words of comfort, but i can't help but feel uneasy, what is Lucy doing now? Is she hurt? Is she cold? Has she gotten into trouble? And WHERE exactly is she?

**Meanwhile,in a cave in the mountains ( Lucy's POV )**

"ACHOO!"

Urgh, i feel horrible, i've been walking in this cave since i arrived and i've yet to see this ore Mr Aser mentioned, my back and legs were starting to hurt, BAD.

As i passed yet another ice pillar, wait, didn't i just pass this pillar just now,no,wait,i didn't,wait,i did..

Wait...

AM I LOST?!

NOOOOOOOOOOO! I CAN'T BE LOST! WHAT DO I DO?

As i felt myself sink deeper and deeper into depression,i saw a light ahead,a soft blueish glow,is that where the ore is?

I picked myself up,dusted off the snow on my skirt and walked towards the light,hoping,simply HOPING that it was the ore,as i got closer to the light,i felt the snow beneath my feet tremble,then gave in under my weight,I felt myself slowly fall into the unknown depths beneath me,

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Darkness,

that was all i saw as i fell,darkness,a never ending depth of darkness,

Light,i see it,i was coming up fast as i fell.

Soon,i was shrouded in light,and i felt something hit the back of my head.

As i started to fall back into the darkness,i heard the words,

_"Your finally here...Lucy..."_

before darkness completely envloped my mind,i saw a feminine figure,trapped in ice.

And then,everything went black.

* * *

**Yay! And Chapter 2 is done! What happened to Lucy? Who is this mysterious figure? What's Natsu doing? What going to happen next? Find out in Chapter 3 : Tenebre!**

**Happy: . ?!**

**Kanae:(trembling) H-h-hai,here you g-g-go,H-Happy,freshly caught fish!**

**Happy: Aye! Fish!**

**Kanae: Whew,Happy before i end off,would you like to do the disclaimer for me?**

**Happy: Aye! KanaeHitomi does not own Fairy Tail,Hiro Mashima sensei does,she just owns the trouble she created in this fic and her OC! **

**Kanae: WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU BAKA NEKO?!**

******Happy: A-Aye! Kanae's scary!**

* * *

**Preview on Chapter 3 :**

"How did you know my mother?!"

"I cannot let you pass through here..."

" LET. US .THROUGH! "

"I'M COMING FOR YOU,LUCE!"

_"I will show you all that you wish to know,and how it all started,and also how i met your mother..."_

* * *

**So,how was Chapter 2? Was it good or are there places in which i can improve in? Feel free to let me know through the VERY ATTRACTIVE review button below,i know your tempted to click on it~ give in to temptation,i knooooow you wanna click on it~**

**I would like to thank these abosolutly AWESOME people for reviewing and following this story:**

**Neko-Sky Maiden Wendy,phoenixflamemarauder ,kikyo99,Serena Heartfilia,GoldenRoseTanya,Neko no me,Curiosity- Or n0t,dog's paw burning in hot ash,HitsuKarin Lurver and ann-lismart,**

**A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU! And i would also like to thank every other unknown reader of my story for actually reading my story,sniff sniff,I'M SO TOUCHED! WAAAAAAAAAA! ( cries makarov style )**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	3. Chapter 3 - Tenebre

**Lucy: WHY DID YOU MAKE ME FALL THROUGH A HOLE AND LEAVE ME AT A CLIFFHANGER?! ( strangles and shakes Kanae,violently )**

**Kanae:( turns blue ) C-c-can't-t b-b-b-bre-eat-th,n-need-ds to d-do i-i-intr-roduct-tion!**

**Lucy: ( lets go ) Oh my Mavis! I'm so sorry! I let my anger get a hold on me! Hontoni sumimasen! ( bows low )**

**Kanae: ( coughs violently ) Gagh! Are you trying to kill me woman?! I have a story to finish you know?!**

**Lucy : Hey! I have one to finish too!**

**Kanae: Sighs...( looks at audience ) Oh shit...Urm...Heya people! ( awkward laugh ) Haha...hahaha...Sorry about that,as you guys can already see,this week's guest is none other than Lucy!**

**Lucy: Thanks to SOMEONE here,i got stuck in a hole in a cave, unconscious,and probably freezing to death and who knows what she's going to do to me next.**

**Kanae: Urm...forgive me?**

**Lucy: FORGIVE YOU?! After leaving me in the cold, UNCONSCIOUS,and freezing to death you expect me to forgive you?!**

**Kanae: HIIIII! Lucy-sama,please forgive me and don't kill me!**

**Lucy: Hmph!**

**Kanae: Oh great Lucy-sama! Would you please help this humble Kanae do the disclaimer?**

**Lucy: Hmph,this idiot does not own Fairy Tail,Hiro Mashima sensei does,and she'll never own it in a million years.**

**Kanae: Lucy's mean...**

**Lucy: WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU...**

**Kanae: ( covers Lucy's mouth ) Hai hai! Let's leave the cussing to the foul mouthed idiots in this story,and without further ado,i present Chapter 3 : Tenebre! ( drags Lucy away ) **

**( Updated : 07/06/13 )**

* * *

** Previously on GOTEG: Tenebre**

" I'm finally here!"

"You sure know how to make spells like this,Master..."

"I can't smell Lucy!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"This...this...this is her house..."

"You're finally here..."

* * *

Chapter 3: Tenebre

* * *

**? in the Mountain( Lucy's POV )**

_"Lucy..."_

Urgh,who's calling me...

_"Lucy...wake up..."_

My head hurts...

"Looks like she hit her head too hard, Master, should i try waking her up?"

A male's voice?

_"Just don't overdo it,Serpe...And how many times have i told you not to call me Master...?"_

Ha ha, that sound like what i normally tell my spirits...

"Hai hai Tenebre-sama,anything else you need?"

So this lady's name is Tenebre, what a pretty name...

_"Leave the sama out...never mind, just wake her up...GENTLY..."_

Wake who? Me? Aren't i already awake?

"I'll try my best,Tenebre-sama."

I heard the shuffling of feet in the snow,why don't i have a good feeling about this?

"Ahem,(inhales) WAKE UPPPPPPPPPPP!"

My eyes shot open and i shot upright,immediately regretting it as my head started to spin,as i was about to fall back into the cold,hard snow,i felt a pair of semi-warm arms catch me.

I looked up to see a pair of yellow-green slitted eyes that belonged to a rather handsome young man looking back at me. He was well-built,that i know,i could feel his abs rippling as he breathed from under his clothes.

"Like what you see?" i saw him smile mischievously at me,i felt my blood rushing up to my face,tinting it a bright red.

"W-wha a-ar-re you talking a-about?" i stammered,Mavis,this was embarrassing!

_"Serpe,stop teasing the poor girl,you're turning her into a tomato."_

This voice again, her voice is like the tinkling of crystals, i looked around, all i saw was snow, ice, a hot guy named Serpe, more ice, more snow, a huge crystal with a person in it, more sno...wait a moment ...A HUGE CRYSTAL WITH A PERSON IN IT?!

My jaw dropped to the snow covered floor.

_"Sigh,yes,its not everyday you see a person who's trapped in crystal, i know that already, after all, I AM the person trapped in it, stop gaping would you? It's big enough for me to build a house in it."_

I snapped my mouth shut, wow, for a person that's been trapped in crystal for who knows how long, she sure know how to...

_"Talk like i've never been trapped at all?"_

"How did you..."

_"It's written all over your face in blaring blocked letters and neon lights, and no, i can't read thoughts."_

Was i that obvious?

_"Yes, apparently, you are that easy to read."_

"Would you stop answering my thoughts already ?!"

_"Sorry, its just been too long since i've talked to another person other than my spirits."_

"SPIRITS?!"

_"Yes, spirits, i have the same magic as you Lucy, but it's not my main magic, it's one of many that i've learnt besides my main magic, meet Serpe, the snake of the chinese zodiac."_

Chinese Zodiac?! They really exist?! I stared at Serpe in awe ,who was looking at me drowsily,

"Yo, nice to meetcha again."

Confused, i asked, "Again? Isn't this is the first time we're meeting?"

_"Serpe,you're confusing her, just show her your disguise that you used when you met her."_

"Hai, Tenebre-sama."

As he said this, i saw his body slowly morph into a familiar figure, a very familiar short and chubby old man.

"MR ACER?! What are you doing here?!"

"Mr Vindrew Acer here is just another one of my disguises, as the snake of the chinese zodiac, deception is part of my job description, don't feel bad about falling for illusions like these,even the strongest of all mages can't see through my disguises." He yawned as he morphed back to his normal self.

"Wow, i never even suspected a thing, was that part of your illusion?"

_"That part was my doing,i placed a spell on your fake mission slip so that you won't suspect a thing,and that anyone that talks to you directly about your mission would forget it the moment you stop talking to was also the spell that made you pick that mission in the first place,it was meant for you only."_

I looked at her weird,"Why would you do that?"

_"I wanted to meet you as you're Layla's only daughter,and it was because you're your mother's daughter, you would have realized anything was strange the moment it shows it self to you, if i didn't put that spell on the mission slip, you would've seen through Serpe's illusion, how could a old man with a hip problem walk without a problem?"_

"Oh that's why i...wait...You knew my mother?! How did you know my mother?!"

How could she have known my mother? She looks my age,so she couldn't have lived long enough to meet my mother right?

_"Yes, i knew her, your mother, Layla Heartfilia , i knew her." _i heard remorse and grief behind her voice, her voice that sounded way beyond her age, that held knowledge beyond her years,

"But how, she never mentioned anybody by your name and you look my age, how could you have known her?"

I heard her sigh,_"She was like none other, she was the only person who accepted me for who i am, she treated me like a human, not a monster or an abomination, even though i told her what i was,but in the end, i was...i was the one who indirectly..."_

The next three words made my world screech to a stop,as it echoed through my skull,

_"caused her death..."_

**Meanwhile,at Ur's house (Normal POV)**

STOMP

STOMP,STOMP,STOMP

STOMP,STOMP,STOMP,STOMP,STOMP

STOMP,STOMP,STOMP,STOMP,STOMP,STOMP,STOM...

"Oi,flame brain,stop pacing already,you're going to create a hole in the floor!"Gray snapped at Natsu,

"I agree with Gray-san, Natsu-san,there's nothing we can do in this weather, all we can do is to wait for it to die down." Wendy said timidly while hiding behind Erza.

STOMP,STOMP,STOMP

"Ano...Natsu-san,are you listening?"

STOMP,STOMP,STOMP

THUMP

"Natsu-san?"

STOMP,STOMP,STOMP

THUMP

"NATSU-SAN?!"

STOMP,STOMP,STOMP

SNAP!

"NATSU DRAGONEEL,YOU BETTER SNAP OUT OF IT RIGHT THIS INSTANCE!"

Natsu finally stopped pacing around the house, only to find three angry people and two exceeds glaring at him,

"Urm...What's wrong?" he asked sheepishly while scratching his head,

Erza's aura suddenly grew in size, enveloping the entire house and making Natsu cower in fear,who was using Happy as a shield,

"What's wrong?!WHAT'S WRONG?! We've been screaming at you for the past 5 minutes already,and what was your response,NOTHING,our words went right through your ears and out the other ear! THAT'S what's wrong!" Erza fumed,

Then her aura died down as she grabbed Natsu by his shoulders,and pulled him into a bone breaking hug,LITERALLY,

CRACK!

"OOFF!"

"Natsu, we know that you're worried about Lucy, we all are, but pacing around the house while wearing out the floor is not a solution, just try to relax for a moment, and use your energy for more important things later." Erza said in a surprisingly gentle tone.

After hearing the logic behind Erza's words, Natsu slumped down on the couch beside Wendy,and before dozing off, he mumbled something that only Wendy could hear,

"Lucy..."

**Time Skip,1 hour later ( Normal POV )**

"The storm has ended,let's go people!"

After hearing Gray's shout, Natsu shot to his feet, and with his flaming fist, he punched the air,

"Yosh, I'm all fired up, I'M COMING FOR YOU LUCE!"

And with that, Team Natsu(without Lucy,with Wendy and Charla), ran off into the mountains.

**Back to ? in the Mountain** **( Lucy's POV )**

_"caused her death..."_

"W-what do you mean?"

She caused my mother's death, SHE caused my MOTHER'S DEATH

_"I was hoping to break this to you in a gentler manner, but it seems like...'_

"Don't give me that crap! TELL ME! What do you mean by 'indirectly caused her death'?!"

She sighed,"_"It looks like this will be hard to explain in words,come,approach my crystal."_

Approach her crystal? i narrowed my eyes, is she plotting something? To kill me like she did to my mother?

I heard her sigh heavily again,_"Just trust me, i promise,you would not be harmed, and this is something that your mother taught to me,and something that you know well, a Celestial Mage never breaks her promises, isn't that right?"_

So she knows this as well? But didn't she say...

_"Even though Celestial Magic is not my main magic, and even though i'm not a true Celestial Mage, but since it was Layla that taught me this, i will follow it till the day i die, that is, if i even get to see that day."_

Huh? What does she mean?

"What do you mean 'if i even get to see that day' ?"

_"Just come closer to my crystal,close enough to touch it, and then I will show you all that you wish to know, and how it all started, and also how i met your mother." _

"Will i know about you too?"

I wanted to know more about her, she was such a strange girl, she seems so young yet behind her voice, it seems almost like she's been living for hundred of years, so mysterious yet so entrancing at the same time.

_"Since you wish to know more about me, i shall show you how i was created, but be warned, after seeing my life, you'll be pulled into the same situation your mother,you might end up like her...dying because of knowing my past...are you sure? I didn't call you here to die like your mother did_."

"Then why did you call me here in the first place? Going so far as to send me a fake mission slip, getting someone to disguise as the fake mayor and to send me dreams about falling cities? Just why would you do that?"

**( Tenebre's POV )**

Sending her a fake mission slip and getting Serpe here to disguise as fake mayor, i did that,but sending her dreams? Even with my accursed background and magic, i'm not capable of sending dreams, Layla, could she have inherited your gift? But didn't you tell me that you've sealed it? Layla...

_"I admit that i'm guilty of sending you a fake mission slip and mayor, but my sole reasoning behind my actions was to meet you to atone for my sins towards your mother, to ask for forgiveness from you, though i highly doubt that you'll forgive me, but dreams? Even with my accursed background, i'm not capable of sending dreams."_

I saw her inner turmoil within her eyes, yet she was trying to put up a brave front in front of me, she has grown to be a strong lady, just like you wanted her too,Layla.

I then felt someone, or rather some people enter my cave, activating my sensor, i sent part of my consciousness there, only to find a group of mages and two cats with wings there.

These must be Lucy's nakama, they must've found out about the fake mission i sent, but how? I saw a little blunette girl together with them, ah, she was the one i saw near Lucy when she was talking to the barmaid,so she heard about it, damm, i knew i should've increased the range of the spell.

I used my telepathy to contact Serpe,who was, jeez, sleeping?! Sigh,well he is part reptile after all, the cold climate here has that effect on him, i cleared my thought throat,

_"SERPE,WAKE UP!"_

_"Jeez,Tenebre-sama,you don't have to be that loud you know? i'm not deaf you_ know?"

_"We have intruders,they're Lucy's subordinates,so don't hurt them,just slow them down to buy me time to show her everything."_

_"Everything? Are you sure,Tenebre-sama? This wasn't part of your plan wasn't it?"_

_"I KNOW! You don't have to remind me about it,just the thought of her getting involved makes me...makes me think about what just MIGHT happen to her!"_

_"Whoa,take a chill pill boss! I'll slow them down as much as i can,just don't get yourself into too much trouble without me."_

I felt him cut the connection,sigh, now its only Lucy left.

**( Lucy's POV )**

Jeez,this girl is getting more and more confusing by the second, sjust exactly is so bad about her past?

_"So like i said, are you sure you want to know? I can just show you what happen to your mother and not get you involved, so what's your choice?"_

She did say whatever my mother knew about her caused her to be killed didn't she? But i HAVE to know, i have to know what was it that caused my mother to die.

I picked up my courage and said,"Yes,I want to know,even if it endangers my life,i just have to know what was it that killed her."

I heard her sigh yet AGAIN, eesh, this girl sighs way to much,

_"If that is what you wish,then come, approach my crystal, and put your hand on it, then you will see everything that you wish to see._

I walked towards her and looked up at her crystal, she looked so innocent, like a black and platinum haired angel, and so serene, like she's just sleeping in a crystal, how is it possible that someone like her could have caused my mother's death? Only one way to find out, as i placed my hands on her crystal, it started to glow a bright blue light

Then,

everything went black.

**Meanwhile,at the entrance of cave ( Natsu's POV )**

"Lucy's scent is stronger this way, let's go!" i shouted at Erza and the rest, hoping that they'll just run faster for Mavis sakes!

"Oi flame brain, stop melting the path, you're making it slippery,hey! That gives me an idea! "

"Ice-make:Floor!"

And the next thing we knew, we were sliding our way there,as much as i didn't want to admit it,good thinking from the ice prick.

I could smell that we were getting closer to where Lucy was,i was getting closer to Lucy!

We were about to enter another section of the cave when i saw someone blocking our way,as we skidded to a stop,i sniffed at him,and growled,

"It's you! I smelled you at Ur's house!"

The green haired asshole in front of me just yawned and gazed at us lazily,

"So you're that Lucy girl's companions,looks like my master's discription of you people were quite accurate."

"What did your idiot of a master say about us?!" i said with gritted teeth,

"Oh,she just said that you all are violent,vulgar and some other things that i'm too lazy to say,but..."

I punched the ground where he stood,only to find that he was somewhere else,

"BUT she said that this was why that Lucy girl likes you people."

"CUT THE CRAP! WHERE'S LUCY?!"

"She with my master now,all i know is that,i cannot let you pass through here till my master is done talking to her."

with this,he got into his fighting position,legs spread out wide while holding his fists in front of him,

"Come."

I charged at him,raising my flaming fist at him,i shouted

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!",

he sidestepped and i went past him,i turned back and let loose a roar,

"Fire Dragon's Roar!",

FOOOOM!

I melted the snow where he stood,yes,i got him! But when the smoke cleared,i see him dusting his coat,

"Whew,that was close,i almost got roasted,but it seems like i underestimated you people,it's been such a long time,but it's time to get serious."

His voice turned dark,and the next thing i knew, he was in front of me,he kicked my face with his right leg,up and down,then he did a backflip,kicking my face in the process,before i could recover,he was already charging towards me,he grabbed me by my scarf and threw me up,and before i landed,he jumped and threw me down,creating a crater in the snow.

"Natsu!""Natsu-san!" I heard the rest shout my name,

"You bastard,how dare you harm my nakama!" Erza screamed while requiping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor,a ring of swords forming behind her,

"Harming any of my nakama,even flame brain there,is equals to you signing for death certificate!" Gray seethed,putting his hands together as frost starts to form in his hands,

"Natsu-san!I'll heal you!"Wendy rushed to my side and a bright green magic circle formed where her hands were, enveloping my body with its healing warmth,

as Wendy healed me,Erza and Gray were fighting wih that green haired bastard,but it seems like even they were having a hard time,

"Blumenblatt!"

"Ice-Make:Hammer!"

"Pentagram Sword!"

"Ice-Make:Lance!"

None of their hits were connecting with him,he just seem to slide away like a snake,

"Save your energy for later,Wendy,i have to beat the crap outta this bastard here first!"

I stood up,and with the familiar feel of my flames covering my body,i approached him,

" LET. US .THROUGH !"

And with that,i joined Erza and Gray in battle.

**Meanwhile,in Tenebre's memory ( Lucy's POV )**

When i opened my eyes, i found myself in a meadow of daisies wearing nothing else but light blue dress barefooted, I stood up and looked around but all i saw were daisies, then,i heard a familiar voice,

"Did you know, in the language of flowers, daisies means 'innocence' ?"

I looked at the direction of the voice and my eyes widened,

Tenebre stood there, her black and platinum coloured hair swaying in the wind, dressed in a similar dress to mine, only that her's was white in colour, and she too was barefooted. She turned to look at me, her black and gold flecked silver eyes staring straight into my hazel coloured ones. But why is there so much sadness in those mystifying eyes?

"Innocence, who knew that angels and demons had that side to them, when my parents met each other on this very field, they found their innocence, innocent love, and despite knowing their differences, they fell in love. Thus, me as the product. And this was how everything started."

She then looked into the distance, i followed her gaze,and watched as her memories unfold before me.

* * *

**What was so sad about Tenebre's past? And what has Layla got to do with it? Stay tuned to find out in Chapter 4 : Memories!**

* * *

**Preview of Chapter 4:**

"NOOO,NOT MY BABY!"

"You have to pay the price..."

"What are you doing to Lucy?!"

"You cursed child!"

"My name's Layla,what's yours?"

* * *

**And yay! Chapter 3 is unveiled! Love it? Hate it? It had its moments? Do leave me a review by clicking on that awsome review button below! It'll help make this story! **

**I would also like to shout out a BIG THANK YOU for these people for reviewing/following this story:**

**Neko-Sky Maiden Wendy,phoenixflamemarauder ,kikyo99,Serena Heartfilia,GoldenRoseTanya,Neko no me,Curiosity- Or n0t,dog's paw burning in hot ash,HitsuKarin Lurver,FairyTaillovaX766 and punkagumon! **

**I would also like to thank all other 400+ unknown readers of my story! If you want to have your awsome name in here,the review button is always there! ^.^**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	4. Chapter 4 - Memories

**Kanae: Hey all! And welcome to a new chapter of GOTEG:Tenebre! And this week out guest is...( gets tackled )**

**Natsu: WHY DID YOU MAKE ME LOOK SO WEAK?! I'LL ROAST YOU ALIVE! ( grabs Kanae by her collar and lifting her while lighting up his other fist )**

**Kanae: HIIIIIII! Don't kill me! I still have many things i want to do! I'll type something in this chapter,like you trashing Gray's ass for example!**

**Natsu: ( lets Kanae go ) Hmm,that sound good! You'd better do it right,like make me all dragon-like,with horns and flaming...(rambles on)**

**Kanae: (rubs neck) Ow ow ow,i get in way too much trouble with my guests,i should stop doing that...**

**Natsu: ...with BIG FLAMING wings! And mean looking fangs(rambles on)...**

**Kanae: Urm...Natsu?**

**Natsu:... and a Gray begging on his knees in front of me(rambles on)...**

**Kanae: Natsu!**

**Natsu: YEAH THAT'S IT! MUAHAHAHAHA!**

**Kanae: NATSU!**

**Natsu: Eh? Oh,you're still here?**

**Kanae: ( dark aura with floating hair,shadowed face ) YOU'RE STILL HERE?! WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT?! THIS IS MY STORY FOR *BEEP* SAKES!**

**Natsu: (shrinks) Sorry Kanae-sama!**

**Kanae: GRRRRRR! I'll do the disclaimer,i,Kanae,does not own Fairy Tail,unfortunately,Hiro Mashima sensei does,i only own this story and the trouble SOME IDIOTS create.**

**Natsu: Kanae's mean...**

**Kanae: WHAT YOU SAY?!**

**Natsu: HIIIIIIII! ( runs away )**

**Kanae: (smiles to audience) Now,i present to you,Chapter 4 : Memories! ( runs after Natsu,fuming ) NATSU DRAGONEEL! GET BACK HERE!**

**( Updated 07/06/13 )**

* * *

** Previously on GOTEG: Tenebre**

"How did you know my mother?!"

"Meet Serpe,snake of the chinese zodiac."

"I cannot let you pass through here..."

" LET. US .THROUGH!"

"I'M COMING FOR YOU,LUCE!"

"I will show you all that you wish to know,and how it all started,and also how i met your mother..."

"And this was how everything started..."

* * *

Chapter 4: Memories

* * *

**In Tenebre's Memories ( Normal POV )**

"Sooooooo,what's going to happen now,Tenebre?" Lucy said while kicking the daisies in front of her,

"They should be appearing here sometime now..."Tenebre mumbled,

"Who exactly are are waiting for?" Lucy looked at Tenebre while dusting off grass from her feet,

Tenebre looked at Lucy and said,

"My parents."

a minute passed

then another

and another

and then

"EEEEHHHHHHH?!" Lucy fell back onto the grass 'anime-style'.

Tenebre sighed and sat down next to her,

"Yes, my parents, you said you wanted to know everything, so in order to understand everything, we have to start from the very beginning,which means, how i got created and how it triggered the events to come,which you would see later. Ah,here she is, just on time, there's my mother." she pointed in front of Lucy,

Lucy looked at the direction Tenebre was pointing, and saw a woman in a white flowing chiton-like dress and flats, with platinum colored hair,as Lucy got a closer look, she saw that she had black eyes with flecks of silver in it, she sat down on the grass ahead of them and started making wreaths with the daisies,

"Wow,she pretty. I can see the resemblance between the both of you." Lucy commented to Tenebre,

"Yea, wait till you see my father, ah, right on cue there he is."

Looking at the other direction, a guy in a black coat with black clothes and shoes with black hair and golden eyes emerged from the forest, only to land flat on his face on the field of daisies,

Lucy sweat dropped,"Ano,Tenebre...?"

"He tripped on nothing, just to let you know." Tenebre said flatly,

"Haha...sou desu ne... You have his eyes,i see" Lucy said,sweat dropping buckets,

"Yea, good thing that's the only thing i inherited from him, otherwise i would me tripping over nothing every few minutes." Tenebre said with a straight face.

"Ah,are you alright?" They turned their head in the direction of the feminine voice, to see the lady rush over to the man, who was sitting up, rubbing his rapidly reddening nose,

"Itai...i should really get rid of this habit of tripping over nothing..." He stood up and dusted his coat,then he looked up and saw the lady,

The lady too looked him in the eyes,and then their eyes widened,they pointed at each other and shouted in sync,

"You're an angel!"

"You're a demon!"

A moment to silence...

AWKWARD

A giggle broke the silence,it then turned into a full blown laughing spree,

"HAHAHAHAHA,LOOK AT YOUR FACE,AHHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Everyone,except the lady as she was too busy rolling in the grass,sweat dropped.

"AHHAHAHAHAHA,A DEMON WITH A RED NOSE,A DEMON RULDOLF,AHHAHAHAHA!"

"Hey! No insulting the nose,it has feelings you know?! And my name is *BZZT*, not Ruldolf!" The man cried out indignantly,while rubbing his nose more.

"Hmm? I didn't quite catch his name,all i heard was static,what's your father's name Tenebre?" Lucy asked,only to be replied with a broken looking Tenebre,

"I don't know,and i never will,my memories of my parents have been edited by them,they didn't want me to know or look for them." Tenebre looked at the ground,as her fist clenched till her knuckles were white,

"Them? Who's them?" Lucy inquired,

" You'll see later,for now lets continue watching." Tenebre replied,then turning her head to her parents direction,

" Hey,let me help you with that." The lady put her hand on his nose and said,

" Heal. "

A bright light came out from her hand,and then when it faded,the man's nose was healed,but he immediately scrambled away from her,and to her confusion,started to pat all over his body,

"Hand intact,leg intact,still alive,no vitals affected..." He mumbled,

"Urm,is there a problem *BZZT*-san?" she cocked her head to the side in a enquiring manner,

"Neh,its nothing,i just wanted to check if my body was still alive and breathing,afterall,you just used your angel magic on me,i should've been dead or serverely injured by now,but nothing happened,what did you do to me?"

The lady crossed her arms and frowned,

" This is all i get for healing your nose? Not even a thanks? Wow,how considerate of you, *BZZT*-san." she said,her voice dripping with sarcasm,

"Ah,urm...thanks Angel-san?"

"Hmm,now that's better,my name is *BZZT* by the way, nice to meet you." she extended a hand to him,

He shooked her hand warily,

"Yeh,nice to meet you."

And the scene shifed in a blur of black,white,blue and green,while waiting fot the next scene to unfold,Lucy asked,

"Ano,Tenebre? What did he mean by 'dead or serverely injured'?"

" You see,angels and demons are sworn enemies by nature,no one knows when or how this rivalry happened and will never know, but each race's magic,no matter what kind it is,is supposed to harm the other race,so my father was confused by the fact that he wasn't harmed,but was healed instead."

"So why wasn't he harmed then?"

"I have no idea either,but it is no coincidence,there is no such thing as coincidence in this world,there is only the inevitable," Tenebre said solemnly, " somehow my mother's angelic magic wasn't able to hurt my father the demon,and vice versa,when according to many,it is supposed to."

"So that's how it is."

"I'll be skipping to a more relavant part of my memory,i'll be skipping the part where my parents started to meet up with each other more and more often,neither knowing that they'll fall in love with each other till something happened,i'll stop there to let you watch it."

As the background formed a new image,Lucy couldn't help but wonder,

"I wonder what Natsu and the rest are doing now?"

**Meanwhile,back at the cave's main entrance, around an hour after the fight started ( Normal POV )**

"Huff,Huff...Damm,his guy's tough!" Natsu panted, while melting the snow around him,

"None of our attacks are connecting at all! What is he,half-snake?!" Gray shouted,half naked once again,

"And its 4 vs 1,and even with my Flight Armor none of my attacks are hitting him!" Erza growled,requiping into her Purgatory Armor as she was getting really pissed off,it was passed her tea time!

And we all know what that means,no tea time=no cake,and no cake=a VERY enraged Erza.

But even with an angry Natsu,half-naked Gray and cake-deprived Erza,Serpe was left untouched,well,mostly untouched,other than a few scratches and bruises here and there,a tear or burn in his clothes or coat,he was fine.

On the other hand,Natsu,Gray,Erza and even Wendy were panting heavily due to their exessive use of magic, and most of it didn't even come close to hitting Serpe.

"Yawn...Are we done yet? I wanna sleep..." Serpe yawned and started to doze off at a nearby pillar,

Now this really pissed them off,here they were trying to save their Nakama,and this idiot blocking their path is sleeping?! Oh,you're in deep shit now Serpe.

"Oi! If your so sleepy,just let us pass and you can sleep till the world ends for all we care!" Gray shouted while shooting his magic at him,

"Ice-Make: Arrow!"

The arrow flew,and landed at an empty spot in the snow,

"Argh,where is he this time?!"

"You know,what you said just now kinda makes sense,but too bad for you,when my master gives me a mission,i'll fufill it,even if it means losing a few precious moments of sleep." Serpe said in a serious tone,while appearing behing Gray,

"Wha?! When did h.."

Before Gray could finish his sentence,Serpe punched him in his stomach,then gave socked him in the face with with knee when Gray bent forward due to the punch's impact,sending Gray flying into the other direction of the cave's main entrance,where Lucy was.

"Hmm,and regarding your previous comment,yes,i am indeed half-snake,half-human/spirit,i am Serpe,the snake of the chinese zodiac,one of the 13 ruby chinese zodiac keys,nice to meetcha,"

after receiving a few heated glares from his audience,he coughed,

"Ahem,urm...maybe not so nice after all that has happened?" Serpe said sheepishly,

"Yea,nice to meetcha,so meet my little friend!"

Natsu threw his right fist at Serpe,Serpe sidestepped,and Natsu's flaming fist only succesfully managed to graze Serpe's cheek,then before Serpe could react,Natsu pivoted on his right foot,and turned backwards,and finally landing a solid hit with his elbow on the back of Serpe's back,making him stagger forward toward the cave's main entrance.

"Hell yeah! Finally a hit!" Natsu pounded the air with his fists,

"Nice reflexes you have there,but its not going to get you pass me,its only the 3rd hit all of you together dealt to me out of 424356 hits in total."

All of them sweatdropped as well as got angrier,he was counting?! Instead of concentrating on them,he was counting?!

But in the midst of the chaos Natsu,Erza,Gray and Wendy created,what they,including Serpe,didn't notice was two exceeds already inside the cave,now,how did that happen? Let's rewind time to find out then!

**Time rewind,10 minutes before ( Normal POV )**

BOOOOOOOOM!

CRASSSSSSSH!

"TAKE THIS ASSHOLE! FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK! "

FHOOOOOOOOM!

"Damm,missed again!"

SLICE! SHING!

"Make way! CIRCLE SWORD!"

THUD! ( x 14573 times )

"Oi Erza,you trying to skewer me?!"

"Leave that for later Natsu...WATCH OUT!"

"Ice-Make: Saucer!"

SMACK!

"OOOOFFF!"

"Sorry Lava Breath,you were in the way!"

"YOU TRYING TO KILL ME ICE PRICK?!"

"I SAID SORRY ALREADY! AND WHAT DID YOU CALL ME FLAME BRAIN?!"

"YOU WANNA GO PERVERT?!"

"BRING IT ON ASH..."

A huge black and red aura flared up from behind them,

"YOU GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT THE ENEMY,NOT FIGHT EACH OTHER!"

"Erza-san! Please calm down!" Wendy cried,

"AYE SIR!" Natsu and Gray said in sync while hugging each other,shivering

"Zzzzzzzzzzzz..."

All 4 mages and 2 exceeds look at Serpe, sweat dropping to see him dozing off while standing upright,then a light bulb went up on all their heads,and then,all a once,they attacked,

"Fire Dragon's...ROAR!"

"Blumenblatt! "

"Ice-Make: ARROW!"

"Sky Dragon's...ROAR!"

All of their attacks combined into one,and in a vortex of fire,sky,ice and metal,it made its way to a still sleeping Serpe.

FWHOOOOOM!

A huge cloud of smoke was created,and due to the impact of their combined attack,both Happy and Charla flew into the cave's main entrance and thus this ends my explanation on how they entered the cave,now back to the story!

**Time skip (15 minutes later,meaning,5 minutes after Happy and Charla flew in the cave , Happy's POV )**

BOOM! CRASH!

I covered my ears with my paws,I've always hated the sound of ongoing battle,i rather be back at the guild with Lucy,Natsu and the other guild members munching on my fish while dodging flying missiles rather than to be here doing nothing but staring at them fight,cause this only reminds me of how little i can do in actual combat,i look at Charla and find her glaring at that snake guy with murderous eyes mumbling,

"Just put a finger on a single strand of her hair,just try,i'll claw your eyes out personally with as much..."

i shivered,as cute as i think Charla is,she can be as scary as Erza and Lucy when they're angry ,i stood up and dusted my backpack, and checked if my precious fish was still in there,

"Where are we?"

"I think we were blown inside the cave's main area,let's hurry and search for Lucy,who knows when that Serpe guy might notice us,we should not waste the opportunity given to us."

"Aye!"

i activated my wings and started floating around,all i saw were pillars of ice and more snow,till i looked down and saw a huge hole in the ground,when i looked down into it,all i saw was darkness,looks like Charla saw it too.

" Happy! Let's go down the hole,Lucy might be there!"

"Aye!"

We swooped down into the darkness,we flew further and further down the darkness ,and for what seemed like hours,we finally saw a light,it got bigger and bigger and when we finally reached the exit,it enveloped us whole,and we were momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness,

when we finally got used to the sudden brightness,when we opened our eyes,we were greeted with a shocking sight,

"LUCY!"

**Meanwhile,back in Tenebre's memories ( Normal POV )**

When the background stopped shifting, Lucy and Tenebre found themselves back at the same daisy field, and the first thing they saw was Tenebre's mother in tears, clutching on to her father's shirt like her life's depends on it,

"They want me to stop meeting you! But...but i still want to! You're my first friend, or rather, the first person i've met that treats me like a normal person, not a porcelain vase or a priceless jewel. And...and.." She cried out,tears pouring out of her eyes,

"Shhh,it'll be alright,just try to calm down for a moment and we'll..." the man tried calming her down but was interrupted by the lady's cries,

"It'll NOT be alright,i don't want to stop seeing you cause...cause..." she pulled away from him,looking her feet while her tears dripped onto her feet,hiding her face with her fringe,

"Cause...?" he inquired,

"Cause...cause...IT'S BECAUSE I LIKE YOU! Not just in a friend kind of way,i really like you,like LIKE LIKE you,urm how to explain..."

They watched as Tenebre's father was rendered speechless by her mother's words,his mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish,then his mouth closed,and he sighed while putting his hand on his face.

Then,they saw him smile,a small yet tender smile,and then he grabbed on to the lady's shoulder,and pulled her into a hug,

"Wha..."

"Shh,there is no more need for you to explain any further,you see,i...i like you too,no,to be accurate,i LOVE you,from the moment i first laid my eyes on you. "he whispered into her ears,then he released her from the hug and cradled her face with both of his hand while using his thumbs to wipe off her tears,then he lowered his face to level with hers,to see her eyes widening as she slowly digested his words,he chuckled,and said

"Stop crying right now,in fact,stop crying ever. I promise,i'll never ever let you cry again,heck,if anyone dares to make you cry,i bash him/her into a pulp,and if i make you cry,i'll...urm...wack myself up!"

the lady giggled,finally cracking a smile,then she looked at him and said,

"Really?"

He nodded furiously,and said,"Yep,really."

Then he looked at her,all humor gone from his face and said,

"*BZZT*...I won't let them take you away from me,i absolutely refuse to let you go,i promise to protect to from them,so,will you run away with me? We'll run away together,and to spend the rest of our lives together,and maybe start a family together,life would be hard,but i promise you would not be harmed. But i can't imagine life without you,it'll be like tearing a part of me away if you're not here by side."

The lady looked speechless for a moment,then she smiles while tears flowed down her porcelain cheeks,and tackled him to the ground in a hug,

"YES,i'll run away with you,i would rather die than to live without you! I...I love you *BZZT* !"

Their eyes met,their faces came closer to each other,

and they kissed,

a long passionate kiss,

then the scene changed again,

"You'll not want to watch this part,it's where they...urm...did IT in there." Tenebre said,with a small,barely concealed,blush on her cheeks,

when Lucy heard this,her face turned a million shades of red as her writer's mind went into overdrive just thinking about what they could be doing,

"Wha...What...they...in the field..."Lucy stammered,

"Yes in the field,just a little extra information,all the animals within 5m radius of them were scared away by their...ahem...activities." Tenebre mumbled,just loud enough for Lucy to hear and for her to turn into a deeper shade of red humanely possible,

Lucy then took a breath to calm herself down,then she asked,

"Anyway,who is this _they _that their talking about? Even just now you mentioned something about _them _editing your memories,who exactly are _they_?"

Tenebre's face turned dark,"_They _are the one's that edited my memories,_they _are the ones that separated my parents,_THEY _are my parent's parents, my accursed grandparents. " she gritted her teeth as she said these,

"Both of my parent's came from quite influential families in Arcadia and Gehenna, or which in common language would be heaven and hell, ,they have considerable power within their grasp,just enough to convince both Councils to meet together in peace to deliver their punishment,and thus,the most scandalous case in both Arcadian Council and Gehennian Council."

And the scene shifted once agin,now Lucy and Tenebre found themselves in a elaborate courtroom,both hauntingly beautiful yet terrifying at the same time,statues of angel and demons slaying each other,all done in terrifyingly realistic details,as Lucy looked at the one closest to her,she felt whatever that was in her stomach ready to make its entrance in front of her.

A demon being slayed by an angel,it was sculpted in such detail,that it was almost alive,with all its entrails swinging outside of it ripped open entrance dripping with blood and the demon's face twisted in such agony,but the angel look entertained,as if seeing the demon's agony was an nothing but amusing show.

Lucy hurriedly looked away from it and covered her mouth,taking deep breaths to compose herself,then she shifted her attention to the center of the room,where both of Tenebre's parents were being held in a elaborately decorated golden cage,as she looked closer,she saw Tenebre's mother holding a bundle,a bundle that looked suspiciously like a body of an infant,her thinking was then interrupted by a scream,

"NOOOOOOO! NOT MY BABY! ANYTHING BUT MY BABY!"

Lucy looked at the direction of the scream,to find that it came from Tenebre's mother,tears pouring out of her eyes like a never ending waterfall,as she clutch on the the bundle desperately,

"_This is the price you have to pay,you have to pay the price for your sins,thus we shall take your child from you._" a unearthly voice boomed,

_"This is the decision made by both councils,in addition to taking your child from the both of you,the punishment for both of you is this,you'll be together forever for as long as you live trapped in a cage,but you can only see each other,you can not touch nor hear each other,and it shall be this way as long as the council is in power which in this case since we're immortal,forever."_

"But what about our child?! What will you do to her you bastards?!" Tenebre's father shouted,punching the cage in rage,

_"Hmmm,she will be of use for us,she is afterall,the offspring of the __most powerful demon and angel in history so far,she would be a very useful pawn,very useful if we can control her from young."_

"You assholes,take me instead,leave my child and my wife alone!"

With that,he roared and tried to break the barrier of the cage,but no matter how hard of how much magic he used,the barrier didn't even crack,but that didn't stop him,even when his magic was depleted,he used brute force,

but even till his knuckles were bleeding,the barrier didn't even budge,

_"That's enough,we shall take your child now."_

A giant hand shot out from a black hole that formed beside Tenebre's mother,and snatched away the bundle,closing off the black hole when the hand retracted,

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MY CHILD!"

and the both of them went berserk,

"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

"GIVE HER BACK TO ME!"

Flashes of white,gold,black and red flashed around the room,as they tried desperately to break out of their cage to retrieve their child, even though only a crack appeared on the barrier,the mere magnitude of their spells was enough to shake the room,

"GIVE . HER . BACK . TO . US !"

_"Stop this foolishness right now!"_

and with that,a blinding white and black light filled the room,and the scene changed again,

**( Lucy's POV )**

This is so...i've no words to describe this...

I looked at Tenebre and saw that tears were flowing out of her eyes,then she looked at me and said,

"I've tried looking for them,you know,but after centuries of looking,the only clue i have is what kind of cage their in."

She waved her hand in front of me,and i saw a capsule like container,with a line,no a glass in the middle of it,and with a closer look,i saw two figures in it,i took a step back in shock,those figures are Tenebre's parents! Both of them were mirroring each other's actions,hand to hand,but they were unable to actually touch one another,due to the glass separating them,Tenebre's father started banging on the glass,shouting words that cannot be heard,but even knowing that,he continued to shout furiously,and all Tenebre's mother could do was to weakly bang onto the glass as she cried.

Then Tenebre sliced off the image with her hand as she whipped her head to the side,although her hair shadowing her face,i could tell that she was crying,her tears were dripping onto her dress.

I couldn't help but to pity her,then i started to mentally hit myself,i was so stupid to think that i was the only one with a horrible family life,then i remembered,Natsu,Erza and Gray.

Igneel left Natsu when he was young,and he doesn't even know his real parents.

Gray's parents and maybe his siblings were killed by Deliora,and his mentor was killed by the same thing.

Erza...i don't think she ever knew her parents,or maybe she didn't remember them,after suffering traumatic situations at the Tower of Heaven.

But then again,despite all of our pasts,we still have Fairy Tail,i felt a smile crept up my lips,cause all of Fairy Tail is my family,its OUR family,i looked at Tenebre and i wanted to tell her to join Fairy Tail,but i stopped myself,she said she caused my mother's death,i let my hand fall back to my side,i shall see then,what was it that caused my mother's death.

As if she was reading my thoughts,she started to speak to me,

"After i was taken by my parents,both Heaven and Hell took turns to 'take care' of me,during spring and summer,i would spend my time in Heaven as they trained me to be their perfect pawn,as well as to brainwash me to believe that everything they told me to do was for the best,and that it was just and right,Hell did the same thing,as both Heaven and Hell had control of half of me,and during autumn and winter,Hell would train me."

" By the time i was a toddler,i was an emotionless puppet,sent out to do suicidal missions that even some higher ups could do,but due to the trainings,i always came back,even with injuries that might have already killed some,i didn't even flinch when i was stabbed in my stomach once,i continued walking through the blade,it was the same almost everyday,being sent out on missions,coming back wounded,getting healed then setting out again. But that all changed during one of my missions."

The scene around me changed again,and i found myself above the clouds,i was admiring the view when i heard a resounding slap,

SLAP!

" You stupid thing! I told you to bring him alive to me, not half-dead!"

It was Tenebre,her cheek was starting to redded due to the force of the slap,but her face remained emotionless,as i took a closer look,i saw her in some sort of armour,her sliver breastplate glinting in the sun,other than the black and gold feather cape flowing from the side her waist,she was in a full suit of armour,only her head was uncovered,it looked elegant yet dangerous at the same time,

" But he is still alive,so my mission is done." Tenebre said in a emotionless voice,then she stood up,took three steps back,turn back and walked out the hall,

"Wait,we're not done with you. We have a new job for you, in fact,this would be your final job as it will be your job for eternity until you die,that is,IF you die,we've just heard from the annual Worlds council that the Gatekeeper have been in a tragic accident regarding the dragons,thus a new Gatekeeper is needed,and you are perfect for the job,now get out of here you cursed child,we have no need for you now,and hopefully,there would be no need for us to meet again. You'll need to follow us to the meeting tomorrow,be prepared,take ALL of your tainted belonging."

"If that is what you wish,it shall be fulfilled ."

And the scene shifted again,

Confused,i asked Tenebre,

"What is the Gatekeeper?"

"As you already know,there is the Celestial Spirit world,but there many other worlds than that,like the Dragon world,the Faerie Kingdom,Arcadia,Gehenna,Edolas,and even Earthland,but with so many worlds,there must be someone to keep them apart,to make sure that they don't collapse together,otherwise the balance of the world would collapse together with it,so a Gatekeeper is needed,she solves conflict of the worlds,makes sure that the different worlds don't mix together"

"Apparently,when i was absent from my post,you guys got sent into Edolas right? I apologise for that,it seems like i left a loophole in my security. But before i sealed myself in ice,dragons,faeries and all other creatures of other worlds could roam free, the Celestial World was an exception,they preferred to make contracts with humans as keys and to mingle among them in this manner,others like the dragons chose to remain solitary but some chose to raise a human child,thus Dragon Slayers,Faerie Hunters and Exorcists were created. But it seems like when i sealed myself,i sent all of them back to their respective worlds."

So she was the one that made Natsu,Wendy and Gajeel's dragons leave them! But one thing still bothered me,

"Why did you seal yourself in ice in the first place?"

She looks at me,and says,

"This is the part you have been waiting for,how i met your mother and how i caused her death,this would also explain why i sealed myself in ice ,it all started 267 years after i started my job as Gatekeeper and after the Celestial Spirit King asked me for a favor ."

"Wait wait wait! Hold up! 267 years?! How is that possible?! And the Celestial King asked you for a favor,The Celestial King himself?! "

She sighs and explains,

"As a half angel and demon,i am immortal,i stopped ageing when i reached the human age of 18,and that was 528 years ago,and yes,he summoned me and i met him in person,now watch."

The scene shifted,and my eyes widened,

"Mom..."

**Meanwhile,back to the cave's entrance ( Serpe's POV )**

"LUCY!"

Shoot,i forgot all about their cats,they've managed to sneak in. Oh well,time to send Tenebre-sama a message,i connected to her telepathically,

_"Ano,Tenebre-sama? I'm so sorry,but it seems like i failed at my task,i've accidentally let their cats past."_

_"It's ok,i'm almost finished here,good work Serpe,you can let them in,just make sure that that pinky does not lose his cool,explain everything to them,EVERYTHING,you heard me? EVERYTH..."_

_"Jeez,you're so naggy,yes Ojo-sama,i shall explain EVERYTHING."_

I cut off the connection,sigh,now all i have to do is...

"TAKE THIS!"

I saw a flaming fist fly towards me,oh shit,i quickly dodged to the side,

"WHOAH! Chill dragon...urm...guy!"

He glared at me,jeez,does he glare at everyone?

**( Normal POV )**

"CHILL?! Maybe if you let us pass,I would!" Natsu growled at him,

Serpe laughed and that angered Natsu more,when he was about to take another step towards Serpe,Serpe said,

"You know,before you threw your fist at me,i WAS about to let you pass you know?"

SILENCE

.

.

.

"EHHHHH?!" All 4 of them shouted,making Serpe flinch,then while rubbing his ears,he started to lead them into the cave,

"Do you mind? I have enhanced hearing like your buddy there you know? I'm surprised that he isn't deaf from hanging out with people like you,let's go in then,i wanna get this done and over with so i can sleep."

"Wait."

They all looked at Erza,who narrowed her eyes in suspicion,then she said,

"Why did you suddenly let us in? And what did your master do to Lucy? "

Serpe seemed to think for a moment,then he turned back,motioned to them to follow him,and said,

"Come,it'll be easier to explain once we're inside,and don't worry,its not a trap,my master just wanted to talk to he girl. "

When they walked further into the cave,Serpe looked at Gray and said,

"Hey ice dude,we need to borrow you powers for a moment,"

He pointed down into the hole,

"Can you create a slide us to go down,its quite deep and we don't have a cushion of snow to cushion our fall since that Lucy girl has already used it,and i don't really feel like jumping down and breaking my neck."

Gray nodded,put his hands together and shouted,

"Ice-Make: Slide!"

A slide of ice formed,and they made their way down.

When they've reached the end of the hole,they saw Lucy in front of a huge ice crystal,her eyes were closed and both of her hands were on the crystal,but when they looked closer,they saw a figure in the ice,most of her body was in ice,other than her hands,which were on Lucy's forehead,glowing a soft white light,,then Natsu grabbed Serpe by his coat,smashed him into a pillar,and shouted,

"What are you doing to Lucy?!"

**Meanwhile,back in Tenebre's memories ( Lucy's POV )**

I looked at the image of my mother,

"Mom..."

"It's not really her,its just an image of her,she was the subject of the favor the Celestial King asked from me afterall. Now watch." Tenebre said,as she pointed to herself in her memory,

"So what is it about this lady that you want me to observe? Not to be rude or anything,Celestial King-sama,but i'm quite busy today,it seems like a certain red dragon who uses flame magic has created trouble with some faeries,again." Tenebre said,still emotionless.

" Please,old friend,as i can't leave my realm,i'm concerned for the well being of my fellow spirits,some of them are being used as tools and shields by the masters they've contracted with, but i've heard a strange rumor that has going around the spirit world,it seems like this lady,Layla Heartfilia,has managed to make a contract with not only one,but three of the Celestial Zodiac,Aquarius The Water Bearer,Cancer The Giant Crab and Capricorn The Goat."

Tenebre was still emotionless,but i could tell she was surprised by the way her eyebrow lifted slightly,then she said,

"Making a contract with one Celestial Zodiac key is rare enough,but she has managed to get her hands on three,now that is no small feat."

The Celestial King nodded,then he continued,

"And from what i've heard from them,she has not once used them as a tool or a shield,instead,she prefers to fight alongside with them,her friends,this has made many spirits ready to throw their keys to her for her to become their masters,but just to make sure that my fellow spirits are not lying to me,i want you to evaluate her yourself,as the Gatekeeper of the worlds,you and i work together a lot,don't we,old friend? So would you do me a favor and observe her?"

Tenebre stood there silent for a moment,a small pink Plue walked by,then she nodded and said,

"Very well,i shall do it,i'm also curious about what kind of woman is she,i shall get going then."

"Thank you,old friend,i shall remember this,come back soon i hope,i shall have your favorite earl grey tea ready."

"Thank you for your offer,but i have no idea when is the next time i will be back,but i'll try my best,send my regards to all your spirits."

And with that,she opened a gate in front of her,walked through it,and both disappeared in a bright flash.

Then Tenebre started speaking,

"I started observing her,her daily life and how she built her company together with her husband,she was indeed different from the normal Celestial Spirit mages i've seen,she calls them her friend instead of tools or shields,fights along side them instead of hiding behind them,putting herself in the same danger as her spirits,and after around a week of observing her,i started growing attached to her,especially when she looks at her swollen belly, caressing it with such love in her eyes,something that i yearn for. One day , when she was taking a stroll alone in the forest,a group of men suddenly appeared in front of her,and before she had the chance to react,one was already swinging a knife towards her,aiming for her stomach."

She waved her hands in front of her and watched the scene unfold before me,while listening to Tenebre speak,

"I immediately ran i front of her and took the hit for her,it cut me deep in my back,but that was nothing compared to what they've put me through during their trainings,with the knife still stuck in my back,i turned around and stared at the man."

The man looked beyond terrified at seeing the emotionless Tenebre in front of him,he watched as she reached for the knife behind her,and yanked it out with a squelch,with wide eyes and his entire body trembling,he stuttered,

"M-m-monster!"

I saw a flash of sadness in Tenebre's emotionless eyes,but it disappeared as soon as it appeared,then she said in a emotionless voice,

"I believe this belongs to you."

Then the knife suddenly sprouted from his right leg,and he screamed,i looked at Tenebre,she was stilll in the same position,but the knife was gone from her then looks at the other men in front of her,all trembling violently,the she said,

"Boo."

And they all ran away,dragging the man with the dagger in his leg,screaming.

Then she sighed and turned around,to see Layla in tears,as she reached out a hand to her,saying

"Are you alright?"

Layla immediately scrambled away from her,stood up,and ran away toward her mansion,

Tenebre sighed,and mumbled to herself,

"She's no different from the others..."

But she was proven wrong when Layla emerged from the trees again,only this time she was carrying a huge box,she ran to a very surprised Tenebre,and started screaming,

"Omigoshommigoshyou'rebleedingsomuchdoihaveenoughb andageswaitineedhotwaterbu tidon'thaveitomigoshwhatdoidowhatd oidowhatdoido?!"

(Translation : Omigosh,omigosh,you're bleeding so much,do i have enough bandages,wait,i need hot water,but i don't have it,omigosh,what do i do,what do i do,what do i do?!"

For the first time while watching Tenebre's memories,Lucy saw an emotion on Tenebre's usual emotionless face,her eyes and mouth widened in shock,then she asked,

"Why didn't you leave? "

Stopping her mindless mumbling,she asked,clearly confused,

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Normally people would have ran away screaming 'Monster!' or 'Demon!' or something like that,but why didn't you,why did you come back,and with a medical kit?"

"Well you're clearly not fully human,but you do have feelings don't you? Although you don't seem like the person that lets your emotion show easily,but you clearly have feelings,i believe that everyone should be treated like human being with feelings,no tools,monsters,or any other thing, now stop moving,i need to patch you up."

Then i saw my mother flinch,then she touched her shoulder,and when she saw her hand,she was that her hand was wet,then she looked at Tenebre,who was crying with an unreadable face,clearly trying to stop her tears,

"I'm so sorry,it just flowed out like that,i didn't meant it,please don't hurt me..."

She was stopped when she felt someone hug her,shen she looked up,she saw Layla hugging her,

"There there,cry your heart out,let go of all the things you've bottle up. I will not hurt you. Shhh,there there..."

Layla was stoking her hair,the way she always wanted someone to,and that broke the dam within her,she brawled her eyes out,and on that day,gone was the emotionless puppet,all she was now was a 18 year old girl who needed a shoulder to cry on.

When she started to cool down,she looked up at Layla with swollen,bloodshot eyes,Layla then smiled and said,

"I'm afraid i have not introduced myself. My name's Layla,Layla Heartfilia,what's yours?"

* * *

**So what's going to happen next? How exactly did Layla die? Stay tuned next Sunday to find out in Chapter 5 : Guilt!**

Preview of Chapter 5 :

"I don't have a name..."

"She just sharing her memories..."

"Can i help you with that?"

"LAYLA!"

"Can i ask you for a favor...Tenebre...?"

* * *

**Omigosh,i am so sorry for the late chapter! Hontoni sumimasen minna! In order to make up for this,i decided to write a extra long chapter with the time i still have,and whew, my first 7K word chapter! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter and that you'd continue reading!**

**I would also like to thank the following for reviewing/following my story:**

******Neko-Sky Maiden Wendy,phoenixflamemarauder ,kikyo99,Serena Heartfilia,GoldenRoseTanya,Neko no me,Curiosity- Or n0t,dog's paw burning in hot ash,HitsuKarin Lurver,FairyTaillovaX766,punkagumon and Crystal Louise!**

******Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! It was what kept me going this far! To all unknown readers of this story,you're not forgotten,a BIG THANK YOU too! ^.^**

******Ja Ne!**

******~KanaeHitomi~**


	5. Chapter 5 - Guilt

**Erza : Om nom nom~ Ah...This is bliss~ ( Eating a slice of strawberry shortcake )**

**Kanae : ( tied up and gagged ) MMMFFOI! ( Translation : OI! )**

**Erza : ( Glares at Kanae ) You said something, fiend?**

**Kanae : MMFFIENCE ! FOOOOKK ! ( Translation : Audience! Look! )**

**Erza : ( Looks at audience ) Oh,i didn't notice,please excuse my impudence,please hit me audience-san!**

**Kanae : MMFF MEH UUN AANT OOO,IILL ACKKY OO FFT! ( Translation : If they don't want to,i'll gladly do it! )**

**Erza : ( kicks Kanae ) Shut up,you're in no position to hit me,you're in the middle of your punishment for depriving me of my cake during the last chapter.**

**Kanae : EEEYY! MMET EERRKKS! ( Translation : Hey! That hurts! )**

**Erza : Now,ignoring this idiot here,i shall do the disclaimer. This idiot, ( pulls Kanae up via rope ) does NOT own Fairy Tail,Hiro Mashima sensei does,and she'll never own it in a million years. ( drops Kanae )**

**Kanae : OOOPPFFF! FFFKKK OOO! ****MMET EERRKKS! ( Translation : Ooff! Fuck you! That hurts! )**

******Erza : Now while i punish her,please enjoy Chapter 5 : Guilt! Now did you just cuss at me? ( cracks knuckles )**

******Kanae : EEEEEELPPP MMMMMEEEH! ( Translation : HEEEELP ME! )**

******( Updated : 07/06/13 )**

* * *

**********Previously on GOTEG: Tenebre**

"Yeh,nice to meet you."

"Huff,Huff...Damm,his guy's tough!"

"NOOO,NOT MY BABY!"

_"You have to pay the price..."_

"What are you doing to Lucy?!"

"You cursed child!"

"My name's Layla,what's yours?"

* * *

Chapter 5 : Guilt

* * *

**At Tenebre's Crystal ( Normal POV )**

"I said,What are you doing to Lucy?!" Natsu growled at Serpe,slamming him into the ice pillar in emphasis,

"O-Oi,take a chill pill,Pinky! I'm not doing anything to her,well at least not me,my master is,but nothing bad is going to happen to her,that Lucy girl i mean,i swear!" Serpe rambled on,while looking warily at Natsu.

"Then what is your master doing to Lucy?!" Serpe started to sweat buckets as he felt Natsu's temperature spike up,small flames can now be seen on the surface of Natsu's skin, writhing and dancing like a small campfire,

"H-hey,can you let go of me so i can explain? It's getting hard to breath with you holding me up like this. N-ne,a-a-are you listening?"

When it looked like Natsu was not going to budge an inch without an instant explanation from Serpe,Erza intervened,she marched right up to Natsu,and punched him,

Natsu flew,

Natsu slammed into a wall,

Natsu created a Natsu-shaped hole in the wall,

BAAAMMMM!

"OOOFFF! ITAI! Oi Erza,what was that for?!" Natsu said,while un-burying himself from the rubble,

"You deserved it,he said he was going to explain,so i don't want you burning him alive without an explanation from him first." Erza said as she grabbed him by his scarf,

"Jeez,now my neck's sore...Thanks for saving me,urm...red haired lady..." Serpe coughed out while rubbing his neck,

"It's nothing,and this is only temporary,whether you get burnt alive or not,its up to your explanation." Erza said while dragging a struggling Natsu away from the pile of ice rubble she created,

"Okay..."

Serpe then looked in Natsu's direction and sighed,

"And now there's a new hole in the cave,shaped just like that guy there... I wonder what Tenebre-sama is going to say about this."

Erza ears twitched as she heard this piece of new information,and after dumping Natsu down,she asked,

"So this master of yours,Tenebre is it? What exactly is she doing to Lucy?"

"So here come the start of my lengthy explanation...Eto...Ano...Argh! How on earth do i start?!" Serpe started rolling on the floor and gripping his hair,

Everyone sweat dropped,then Serpe suddenly got an idea,he stopped rolling and looked up at his master's crystal,

"Tenebre-sama,a little help here,TENEBRE-SAMA!"

Then a bright light flashed from the crystal,when the light died down,a translucent looking Tenebre floated there,

_"Oi,Serpe,there was no need for you to shout! Have you forgotten that you can talk to me through telepathy?"_a melodious voice rang through the cave,irritation dripping from it,

_._

_._

_._

"OH! I FORGOT!" Serpe shouted out while slapping his hands together,his right fist over his open left hand.

Everyone,including the ghost-like Tenebre sweat dropped,

then,a small bock of ice flew in the direction of Serpe's head,

BONK!

_"Baka Serpe,forgetting something so simple as that."_

Tenebre then cleared her throat,and while looking at Team Natsu ( +Wendy and Charla -Lucy),she said,

_"So you all must be Lucy's beloved Nakama am i right? I seen a lot of your adventures,how you all subdued the Lullaby,how Ur killed Deliora with Iced Shell by sapping its life in her ice,how Lucy got kidnapped by Phantom and how she got saved by the guild,how Lucy saved Leo the Lion,and all he way up to how all of your saved Lucy from the Infinity Castle,for protecting her,i thank you."  
_

All of them were confused,how did this lady know so much about their adventures when she's stuck in ice? To clear up this confusion,Erza was the first to speak up,

"How do you know so much about us and our adventures? Afterall,you are,forgive my straightforwardness,trapped in ice,so how on Earthland were you able to know so much?"

_"As you can see,i am able to split my consciousness,so while part of me is here,another part of me is back with Lucy. So i use this method to watch over her,so while watching over her,i made myself and my presence invisible or almost indiscernible,just enough for skilled mages like your master to not be able to sense me."_

"Oi you! There ghost-like lady there,yes you! Why don't you just watch over her in person instead of your ghost-like thingy here?! Don't you know how much she's been through?! And from what i've heard so far,you've been watching over her for quite a long time,so why don't you just get out of that crystal block and be there for her when she need you?!" Natsu blurted out,then immediately cowering before Erza's glare,

Tenebre sighed,then she replied,

_"I would've done that a long time ago,but after doing that to her mother,i didn't think i was worthy of being there beside her,and i didn't want her to end up like her mother just because of me,so i bided my time,to wait for Lucy to grow up and to mature,and then waiting for the opportunity to ask her for forgiveness and showing her exactly what happened instead of what the grown-ups told her when she was young just to prevent her from crying,and that is exactly what i'm doing to Lucy right now,showing her my memories,and then when she's done watching,then i would hear her decision."_

"See,i told you guys my master wasn't doing anything bad! She's just sharing her memories!"

Another block of ice flew,

BONK!

"OUCH!"

_"Serpe,shut up."_

Tenebre then directed her attention to Erza,and bowed low,

_"I would also like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by me and my spirit here,is there anyway i can repay all of you for the trouble i've caused?"_

At the mention of the word 'repay',Natsu and Happy's ears perked up,

"A LIFETIME OF FISH!"

"TO MEET IGNEEL!"

A fist flew,

BONK BONK!

"OUCHIE!"

"Shut up!" Erza barked at Natsu and Happy,

"AYE SIR!"

Erza cleared her throat,then said,

"As much as i would like to have a lifetime of strawberry shortcake..."

"HEY THAT UNFAIR..." Natsu shouted out indignantly, he then promptly shut up after Erza gave him a 'one-more-word-and-i-will...' look,then she continued,

"I would rather you repay us telling us or letting us watch what happened to Lucy's mother,of course with Lucy's approval,but if she doesn't want us to know it's also fine with us,but since the other part of you is with Lucy,do you mind helping us ask her?"

_"Give me a few minutes."_

They saw Tenebre close her eyes,then after a few minutes,she opened them again,and said,

_"Come towards my crystal and place your hands on it,you will then be shown all that you wish to know about what happened to Lucy's mother as Lucy has given her approval."_

Looking at each other,Natsu,Erza,Gray,Wendy,Happy and Wendy nodded at each other,then together they walked toward Tenebre's crystal,and placed their hands/paws on it,then their world went dark._  
_

But before Charla placed her paw on the crystal,she saw a disturbing vision,then her vision went black.

**In Tenebre's Memories ( Normal POV )**

When Team Natsu opened their eyes,the first thing they saw was Lucy,and they tackled her into the grass,

"LUCY!" Erza,Natsu,Gray and Happy shouted,leaving a close-to-tears Wendy and a perturbed Charla behind.

"OOFFFFF!"Lucy felt all the air in her body leave her.

All of them refused to let go of Lucy from their man-pile till Lucy squeaked out,

"C-can't b-b-breath!"

They all scrambled away from Lucy,who was coughing and wheezing in a kneeling down position,trying to catch her breath,and when she finally got her breath back,she stood up,

"Are you guys trying to kill me?!" She screeched,a dark aura forming behind her,

"Gomenasai Lucy-sama!"Natsu,Happy and Gray squeaked out,while bowing and kneeling before her,

Only Erza was unaffected by her aura,she just walked up to Lucy and said,

"I'm so sorry for that,please hit me,if that would appease your anger." Erza said with a straight face,making Lucy sweat drop,

"I'm not sure i would even want to hit you,Erza..."

Then Lucy looked at Wendy,and Wendy looked at Lucy,then Wendy burst into tears and ran up to hug a surprised Lucy,

"I'm so sorry Lucy-san! I could have prevented this from happening when i realized something was wrong! Sorry Lucy-san!" Wendy repeatedly apologised to Lucy,

Lucy pulled away from Wendy's hug,knelt down and grabbed Wendy face gently so she could look her in the face and said,

"Don't cry,and don't be sorry,i'm actually glad that i came on this mission,because of this mission,i will finally know what actually happened to my mother,so instead of you apologising to me,i should be the one thanking you,Wendy." Lucy said with a smile.

"Sniff...sniff...You mean it,Lucy-san? You're not angry at me?" Wendy said while sniffing,

Lucy nodded,after seeing this,Wendy visibly cheered up,then with this settled,Lucy stood up,looked at Tenebre and nodded,

Tenebre nodded back and swung her right arm in an ark in front of her,and the scene before them shifted,

"Urrgh...I feel sick..." Natsu said,while his face started puffing up and turning green,

"Oi Dragon Freak,this is no transportation,this is...urm..actually,where are we?"

"You are all in my memories."

They all looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it came Tenebre,she then explained further,

"Its just your consciousness that are here,your real bodies are in fact still outside of this place,so to make this simpler,especially for Natsu-san there,lets just say that all of you are dreaming the same dream. And no,i'm not a type of transportation,so don't vomit in my memories."

"OHHHHHH! Now i get it! So all this moving and shifting does not belong to a transportation! Hey,how did you know my name?!"

"Didn't i just say i've been watching Lucy for a long time? So its kinda obvious i know your name since you keep sneaking into her house and sleeping in her bed."

"W-wait,y-y-you knew about that?!"Natsu stuttered,

"NATSU...YOU DO WHAT IN HER BED?!" Erza said,her demonic aura flaring up behind her,

"HIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!" Natsu screeched as Erza started to approach him,but she was stopped when Tenebre placed her hand on her shoulder,

"Erza-san,maybe you can push your punishing to after all of you are done watching? Don't worry,i'll remind you."

Erza thought for a moment,then she nodded,when Tenebre saw this,she then motioned then to stand closer to her,then said,

"So now i'll do a little rewinding,i hope you don't mind watching the same thing twice,Lucy?"

"Yep,i don't mind."

"Then shall we watch then?"

And with that,all of them directed their attention to the scene unfolding before them.

When they looked around them,they found themselves at one of the many gardens at the Heartphillia mansion,only Erza,Natsu,Gray and Happy knew where they were as they've been here before,but Wendy was clueless,

"Ano...Tenebre-san? Where are we?"

"We are at the garden closest to the Heartphillia mansion,and its also Layla's favorite garden."

"So this is Lucy-san's home? Wow,its so big!" Wendy stared wide-eyed at the mansion,

"It's my PREVIOUS home to be exact,i no longer live here,and i'm no longer am in ownership of it after my father lost his business." Lucy said,with a sad smile,

"Ahem,now back to topic, this was a month after i met Layla,and when she 2 months pregnant with Lucy, she was different from all the other humans i've met before, she welcomed me with open arms,a person whom she hardly knew,there was something about her that made me open up to her,she taught me how to smile,how to feel emotions,how emotions make one weak but also strong at the same time,and she was the one who gave me my name."

She gestured to the scene before her,and when it was revealed,they saw Layla,sitting down on a gilded garden chair, sipping on a cup of tea, and Tenebre was sitting opposite of her,

"So tell me,what's your name? You've never mentioned your name to me since the moment you've met me."

Tenebre looked down at her lap,and whispered,

"I...I don't have a name..."

"Hmm? What did you say?"

"I don't have a name." Tenebre said a little louder,this time,she looked up at Layla,with a sad look in her eyes,

"WHAT?! You don't have a name?! Who are your parents?! Bring them to me! What kind of parent don't give their child a name?!" Layla shouted angrily,

"Well,i think i should tell you more about me then..."

"For the next hour,i told Layla all that i knew about my life,and what i found out about my life that they erased from my memories,and that i didn't even know their names,Layla said nothing through out my tale,she just listened with a completely straight face,and when i finished..."

They looked at Layla's image,and saw that she started crying,tears flowing down her face,she stood up,walked over to Tenebre,and gave her a tight hug,

"You poor girl,not knowing your own name is bad enough but not knowing your own parents name? That cruel,how could they do this to you?" She then let go of Tenebre and grabbed her shoulders,

"Then i'll be your parent,and i'll give you a name." She pondered for a moment,then her face lighted up,and she said,

"Tenebre! Tenebre Akarusa shall be your name,it means Dark and Light respectively,using your background and your magic as a reference,you shall be the darkness within the light as well as the light within the darkness. It suit you,ne?"

Tenebre then looked up at Layla,then a tear slid down her face,and she smiled,a bright and truly happy smile,

"I like that name,thank you,Layla. Thank you."

Layla tsked at her,and said to a confused Tenebre,

"Nooooooo~ Call me 'Mom' from now on,and this little one here would be your little sister,Lucy."

Tenebre fell onto the grass with the chair,

"Ehhhh?! Call you 'Mom'?! I-I-I can't possibly do that!" Tenebre said,while furiously shaking her hands in front of her,

"Come on~ Its not that hard~ " Layla teased her,a mischievous glint in her eyes,

"Urm...Mo...ARGH! It just sounds weird!" Tenebre whined at Layla,

Layla giggled and walked over to her and helped Tenebre up,and then they went back to sipping their tea,and after a few sips,Layla put down her cup,put her left elbow on the table and leaned her head against it,and asked,

"Actually,other than your name,there's also something else i've trying to ask you for awhile,what is your job?"

Tenebre spat out her tea onto the grass and coughed violently,while coughing,she choked out,

"What did you just ask me?"

"Well...You've mentioned to me many times that you're busy with work and that's the reason why you you have a hard time coming to meet me,but all this while all you said was 'work' and 'business' but you've never really told me what exactly do you work as,so can you tell me?And if i think i can help...well...Can i help you with that?Your job i mean."

Tenebre looked hesitant to tell Layla,then she said

"I don't think i should tell you,it might put you and your family in danger,and since i've already told you of what i am,i don't want to put you into any more danger,no,you don't need that,not at all. And no you can't help me."

"Danger? Pfft,what danger,i have my trusty spirits with me at all times! I can take care of myself,so please?"Layla looked at Tenebre puppy-dog eyes,

"No." Tenebre said,unfazed by Layla's childishness

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty pretty please with caramel on top?"

Tenebre hesitated at that and Layla knew she scored a goal,for a serious,mature lady like Tenebre,she has quite a soft spot for anything with caramel,but after a moment of hesitation,Tenebre still refused Layla,

"No,and that's final."

And after hours and hours of trying,

Layla snapped.

"WHY?! What is so dangerous about your job that it could put the people around you in danger,and that you come to me severely injured most of the time,i almost fainted when you came to me THAT time you know?! Did you know how much you scared me?! Although i know that you are immortal since you told me the first time we met,but do you know how i feel when you come to me injured and loosing enough blood to kill a normal human? DO YOU?!"

Tenebre flinched when Layla mentioned THAT incident,and she thought back,it started when she was settling a conflict with a angel and a faerie about a month ago.

**FLASHBACK ( Tenebre's POV )**

Tenebre sighed as she mentally face-palmed herself,while listening to the two bickering before her,

"I don't think my wings are the best,I KNOW they are the best,what do you say about that,midget?!" A lavender haired angel said, sneering at the chestnut-haired faerie before her,

"Midget?! MIDGET?! Oh nooooooooo! Did you just say what i think you just said?!" The faerie shouted back at the angel,

Oh no,i've got to stop this before it...

"Yes I did! I call you a midget,midget! What are you going to do about it,huh,M-I-D-G-E-T,MIDGET?!" The angel retorted back,the ugly sneer on her face a contrast to her beauty,

Oh shit,it just got worse,

"NOW YOU CROSSED THE LINE! GET READY TO GET YOUR UGLY ASS KICKED!" The faerie shot back at the angel,as her hand glowed a pale brown as she readied her magic.

"DID YOU JUST CALL ME UGLY,YOU SHALL PAY FOR INSULTING BY FLAWLESS BEAUTY!" The angel readied her magic as well,her entire body glowing a pale purple,

Crap,i can't let both of them attack each other,if not i'll get a hearing during he next Worlds Conference. I was shaken from my thoughts when i heard them shout,

"BARBED TENTACLES OF THE EARTH!"

"HOLY SHOWER!"

Oh crap,there's no way out of this is there? I thought as i threw myself in front of their attacks,as i felt the vines that sprouted from the ground pierce my body and the light spears spear my arms and legs.

SQUELCH!

Blood spattered all over the cracked marbled floor.

A cloud of dust blew up.

"Did i get her?" I heard the both of them ask themselves,and when the dust cleared,all they saw was me,

the faerie gasped in horror,

"O-O-O-Oh m-my Oberon,i hit the wrong person!"

the angel just tsked,

"Tsk,I wasted my attack on that piece of shit,oh well,i can always do it again."

She started raising her hands again,and i snapped,

"CEASE THIS AT ONCE!" I shouted out in my loudest and most authoritative voice,and i let a little of my killer intent seep out of my body in waves,

the angel stopped her attack in mid swing,frozen in her spot,pure fear evident on her face,

i looked at my body with an expressionless face,and reached out to snap all of the vines and spears rooting me to my spot,

SNAP!

Then i pulled them out one by one,splattering and dripping blood whenever i threw the vines/spears down or where my injuries where,a loud squelching sound being produced when i pulled them out,

SQUELCH!

With holes,scrapes,deep cuts and gashes all over my body,i looked at both of them with my lifeless eyes,and said in a dead voice,

"I shall pretend that all this never happened,so return back to your world immediately. I will not raise this matter during the Worlds Conference either,so leave,now."

I saw the angel unfreeze,and an angry look morphing on her face,and before she could say anything,i appeared in front of her and choked her with my bloodied hand,lifting her off the ground,and said as she struggled in my vice-like grip,

"This is your last chance,i can end your immortal life right here and right Gatekeeper of the worlds,i have the authority to punish those who create trouble for me and my duty,and you my friend,is trouble. So i'm giving you two choices,one,die,and two,return back to Arcadia the moment i let go of you,make your choice,NOW."

And i let go of her,she fell down on the floor in a heap,and immediately scrambled away from me,she then opened a gate in front of her,and disappeared together with the gate.

I looked at the trembling faerie and approached her,but she flew away from me in fear,and before she disappeared into the gate she created,she screamed at me,

"YOU MONSTER!"

Another one,oh well,i'm used to it any way,i then created a gate to Earthland in front of me,and made my way to Layla's mansion,totally forgetting about the fact that i'm practically bleeding all over myself.

When i saw Layla,i called out to her,a smile on my face,

"Layla! I'm here!"

I saw her turn back to look at me,a smile already on her face,but when she turned back and took a good look at me,she screamed,a high-pitched scream that grated my ears,

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I looked behind me,ready for any danger that might be present there,but when i looked,there was nothing,so why was Layla screaming?

I turned back,to see that Layla was screaming at a few servants hysterically,who were running around,racing to fulfill their lady's orders,

"GET ME A SURGEON,A DOCTOR,JUST SOMEBODY! OHMYGODOHMYGODMYGOD! SOMEONE GET ME A STRETCHER OR SOMETHING!" As she continued shouting out frenzied orders,i took a quick look at myself.

Oh.

I totally forgot that i had holes all over my body.

Opps.

I quickly walked towards Layla and told her,

"Layla,i'll be fine,just give a a few hours and a bed and i'll heal on my own."

But she wasn't listening,she just looked at me as if i was crazy and screamed at me.

"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU'RE INJURED FOR FUCKS SAKES AND YOUR MOVING AROUND?! WHAT EXACTLY WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU CAME HERE?!"

Oh,did i mention that Layla curses when she extremely upset?

It took 3 hours to heal,2 surgeons and 5 doctors to prove that i'm fully healed,and a promise to stay in bed for 3 days to convince her to stop panicking.

**FLASHBACK END ( Normal POV )**

"And after my 3 days stay a the mansion,Layla seemed a bit depressed when said i have to go back to work immediately after my 3 days extended vacation. And we've never mentioned anything about this incident,until now that is." Tenebre told Team Natsu plus Wendy and Charla, with many different kinds of reactions/expressions on their faces.

Let's take a closer look at their reactions/expressions shall we?

Lucy - Extremely close to puking her guts out and looking like she's going to faint

Wendy - Just looking pale,cause she's used to seeing blood.

Natsu and Gray - Looking very queasy but trying ( Keyword : TRYING ) to act cool

Erza - a completely expressionless face

Happy - fainted in the background with fishes swimming in a circle on top of his head

Charla - staring wide eyed at Tenebre \O/

Now that we're done,let's get back to the story!

"Let's continue watching shall we?"

Layla was in tears when they continued watching the scene,and a very guilty looking Tenebre in front of her,then she looked at Layla and said,

"No,i don't."

After a pregnant pause,Tenebre sighed heavily and told Layla,

"Ok,i will tell you,BUT,before i do,i need you to make me a promise."

Layla immediately wiped away here tears and look at Tenebre in determination,

"After telling you the full details of my job,i want to be your personal bodyguard,i will watch over your entire household,and you must report to me if you receive any threats or feel that someone is watching you,do you promise to let me do all these as well as to follow my instructions?"Tenebre said solemnly,

Layla thought for a moment,and then nodded her head and said,

"Okay,i promise to keep this promise,and a Celestial Mage never breaks her promises."

And the scene shifted.

And Tenebre started speaking,

"So i told her everything,what i do and the importance of my job,and hours passed by,it was like when i told her my life's story all over again,Layla listening to me speak without saying a word,then when i was done,she insisted on helping me where the Celestial World was involved,and after much persuasion from her,i gave in,and i let her settle some of the issues within the Celestial World."

Tenebre then looked at us and said,

"I'll move on then,it was peaceful from then on,from time to time i would visit her,and every time i'm away for work,i would want to finish it as soon as possible so that i could visit her,a few years passed and Lucy was 3 years old."

She stopped talking and watched the scene,

"I wish you could spend more time with Lucy,Tenebre." Layla said,

As Lucy was running around chasing a butterfly,Layla and Tenebre was sitting down on the grass,watching her run while talking,

"Well,since your helping me with the issues in the Celestial Spirit World,i've a little more time to spend with my...urm...little sister here. But now there's trouble brewing in the Dragon world,there's a uproar about the issue about the dragons training Dragon Slayers,so i think i might not be visiting for quite a while."

They watched as Lucy continued chasing the butterfly to the next garden,then she fell down,Layla was about to run up to her to help, but Lucy had already picked herself up and was running back to her.

As she tackled Layla in a hug,she said,

"Momma,i'm sleepy,can i go take a nap?" Lucy said while yawning cutely,

Layla chuckled and said,

"Go on,i'll follow you later. Go meet up with Mrs Spetto then,she'll tuck you in. Go on."

Layla lightly pushed Lucy towards the mansion,after planting a kiss on Layla and Tenebre's cheek,Lucy ran into the mansion,and into the waiting arms of Mrs Spetto who was waiting for her at the garden's exit.

Once Lucy was out of their sight and hearing distance,Layla looked at Tenebre and said in a serious voice,

"How bad is it?"

Tenebre shook her head and sighed,

"Its not good,there talk about a civil war about to happen,a war between the dragons."

Tenebre laid down on the grass,with both her hand behind her head,and continued,

"So far the only thing that's preventing that from happening is my position as Gatekeeper,as i speak,those who oppose to living together with humans are probably plotting against me,finding a way to get rid or to distract me so that they can go all out."

Layla looked sad for a moment,then she scooted over to Tenebre and lifted her head onto her lap,and while stroking her hair,she said,

"Well,don't overexert yourself okay? And when this matter is finished,i'm sure Lucy would look forward to seeing you."

Then scene shifted,and Team Natsu plus Wendy and Charla found themselves in the middle of a war-torn land,destruction and carnage could be seen everywhere,then they heard a a deafening roar,when they looked at the direction of the roar,they were shocked,it came from a human!

But he was changing before their eyes,his skin itself became scales,his teeth became fangs and his form itself had became that of a dragon,and he laughed,and growled out in a voice that was not human nor dragon,

"Foolish Gatekeeper,you're too late,the blood of the dragons i've slain have merged with mine,i shall become a dragon! The Dragon King! Muahahahahaha!" He roared out a evil laugh that echoed over the plains that was littered with the bodies of dead dragons.

"No,i am not too late,while i was keeping you busy,i've managed to send back most of the dragons back to the Dragon World,and there are many more that are still in hiding,some of which who are together with their human children."

It was Tenebre! But she was in a horrible shape,her armor was in shambles and she was bleeding everywhere,there was a huge claw gash at her back and stomach that was practically pouring out blood,her face was also covered in blood due to the gash on her forehead,

"RRRAAAGGGHHHHH! What have you done?! You've ruined everything!"

And with that,he started trashing around the land around him,leaving nothing but destruction in his wake,but he was then stopped when chains of unholy fire shot up from the ground,and wrapped themselves all over him,shutting off any movement from his,

"Chains of the Dammed." Was all Tenebre said,and as she walked towards the struggling man,she continued,

"Struggling in futile,the more you struggle,the tighter they'll be and the deeper they'll pull you into the ground. As Gatekeeper,i now..."

Before she could finish her sentence,a dark beam shot towards her,seeing it from the side of her eyes,she dodged it,but the beam suddenly turned around and shot the chains holding the man,

The man let out a deafening roar,and he turned into a dragon,he lifted his wings and started to fly off,but before he left,he said,

"I might not be able to defeat you,but i will make you suffer,i'll start by killing your precious lady."

And he shot off into the sky.

"Lady...NO,IT CAN'T BE! LAYLA!"

And she disappeared into the gate she created, determined to save her friend,her mother.

But what she didn't realize was a dark haired man standing in the middle of all the carnage,his red eyes looking boringly at everything,and then he disappeared.

Meanwhile,a gate opened in Layla's room,and the severely injured Tenebre emerged from it,screaming out like a mad woman,

"LAYLA!"

In her frenzied search for Layla,she almost looked over the bed where Layla was in,when she saw a trembling bump below the covers,she immediately ran up to the bed,tore off the covers and gasped,

"No...i was too late..."

Layla was deathly pale,her sweat making her clothes cling onto her skin and making the material slightly translucent,but it was enough for Tenebre to see the cursed tattoo above Layla's heart.

A dragon wrapped around a heart,strangling it in its tight embrace.

Tenebre sank to the ground, ignoring the fact that her injuries were making her blood seep into the carpet and ignoring the fact that she was soiling Layla's bed sheets with her blood soaked hands.

"I was too late...i was TOO late...I WAS TOO LATE!" Tenebre roared in her fury,angry at her own incompetence,

"Tenebre..." They heard Layla whisper,

Tenebre was at her side in an instant,clasping her bloodied hand to Layla's clammy outstretched ones,ready to listen to whatever Layla was going to say,

"Can you tell me what is that tattoo and what is it going to do to me?" Layla asked Tenebre is a weak voice,

Tenebre froze,then she told Layla,her voice heavily laced with guilt and anger,guilty for letting this happen to Layla when she sworn to protect her and anger at herself for not fulfilling her promise.

"Its a curse,it will slowly sap away your magic,and a mage's is his or her life,so it kill you slowly,and in the end,you'll die of a heart disease,there's no cure or remedy for this."

Layla was silent for a moment,her face was completely void of any emotion,then she asked,

"How long do i have?"

Tenebre hesitated,then she used her other hand,and put out 5 fingers,

"At the most,you have 5 years left."

Layla became quiet again,she then sighed,and let out a sad smile,and started to slowly sit up,

"Well,i knew that one day i might die,but i never thought that it might be so early. Oh well,i have to live the last 5 years of my life to the fullest,ne?"

After hearing those words,Tenebre felt the severity of it all sink into her,she was the cause of everything,she is nothing but bad luck,bringing nothing but trouble to those around her.

As she sank further into her pit of self-loathing,she felt Layla grip her hand with a little more strength,and she looked up at Layla,who was looking at her with an unreadable expression on her face,she took a deep breath,and said,

"Can i ask you for a favor,Tenebre?"

As the others were watching the scene intently,Charla was still thinking about the vision she saw before she entered Tenebre's memories.

**FLASHBACK ( Charla's POV )**

_What is this?_

_Magnolia on fire._

_Buildings collapsing._

_Dust clouds and rubble everywhere._

_Dead,bloodied bodies everywhere._

_Empty eye sockets._

_Hanging intestines and organs._

_Limbs not where they're supposed to be,._

_Fairy Tail in shambles._

_Exhausted bodies of guild members everywhere._

_An evil laughter._

_"LUCCCCCY!"_

_Who's shouting?_

_3 figures._

_It's Natsu!_

_Why is he crying out Lucy's name is such pain?_

_Is that Lucy in his arms?_

_What happened to her?_

_Someone else is crying out her name too?_

_That's the lady we saw just now!_

_What is she doing here?_

_Why is she crying out black tears?_

_What exactly is happening here?_

_"You'll never be free of me,i'll hunt you down till the end of the world! And i will not stop until i have..."_

_Have what?_

_Wait!_

_Don't fade yet!_

_What does he want?_

_And from who?_

Before i knew it,my vision faded away,and everything went black.

**FLASHBACK END ( Charla's POV )**

"What exactly was that vision about? I have a bad feeling about all of this..."i thought as i looked at that lady named Tenebre,as a sense of dread for the future crept up my spine.

* * *

**What is Layla going to ask from Tenebre? And how would Lucy react to all this? And what exactly was happening in Charla vision? Stay tuned to find out next Sunday in Chapter 6 : Decision!**

Preview of Chapter 6 :

"Make me a promise..."

"MOMMA!"

"So why didn't you?!"

"I was not worthy..."

"I have made my decision..."

* * *

**Gosh,typing a few thousand words on my phone is hard! But at least i made it in time! Yay!**

**I would like to thank all for supporting my story,although i don't have many reviews/followers,i'm still happy that there are still people who are reading this story,but i can't help but feel a little discouraged,but other than that,a BIG THANK YOU TO ALL! And to all NaLu fans ( me included ),no worries, the fluffy moments would be coming soon! **

**R&R!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	6. Chapter 6 - Decision

**Kanae :** **Owowowowowowow... I am NEVER depriving Erza of her cake EVER again. EVER. ( rubs injuries ). But i'll deal with it after this. ( Looks at audience and smiles in pain ) Hey audience san! And welcome to another chapter of GOTEG : Tenebre! And this week's guest is Gray! To celebrate his victory in Chapter 306 against Rufus! ( fanfare )**

**Gray : ( Walks out )Thank you for inviting me,Kanae! Gimme a high five!**

**Kanae : ( High fives ) Owowowowow,my arms hurt...**

**Gray : Need a little ice? ( ****Strips,p****uts hands together ) Ice-make : FREEZE!**

**Kanae : HEY! That's too much ice! ( Frozen all over )**

**Gray : Opps,i overdid it. ( Scratches head )**

**Kanae : ( Shakes off the ice ) But thanks anyway,and one more thing,Gray,****( points ),your clothes.****  
**

**Gray : GAH! When did this happen?! ( Scrambles to put on clothes )**

**Kanae: ( Sweat drops )5 sentences ago,when froze me.**

**Gray : Oh really,thanks. ( Puts on clothes )**

**Kanae : When you're done,can you do the disclaimer...?**

**Gray : Hai! Kanae does not own Fairy Tail,Hiro Mashima sensei does,she only owns the plot of this story and the trouble she creates in it! ( Says in a completely happy face ) **

**Kanae: ( sweat drops again ) I think i can get used to the fact that almost all my guests say that...**

**Happy,Lucy,Natsu,Erza and Gray : AYE SIR!**

**Kanae : WHERE THE HELL DID ALL OF YOU COME OUT FROM?!**

**Natsu : HEY! WHY DOES THIS ICE BASTARD HERE GET SPECIAL TREATMENT?! ( lits up fist )**

**Happy,Lucy and Erza : YA! ( takes out fish,summons spirits and requips )**

**Kanae : Opps.****( runs away screaming ) WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

******Happy,Lucy,Natsu and Erza : GET HER!**

******Gray : ( Stands in dust alone ) What just happen...? Oh well, since Kanae's not here,i'll do the opening then, ( takes out Rufus's hat from nowhere,puts it on and smiles )****i now present to you,Chapter 6 : ****Decision !**

**********( Updated : 08/06/13 )**

* * *

**************Previously on GOTEG: Tenebre**

"She just sharing her memories..."

"You are all in my memories."

"I don't have a name..."

"Can i help you with that?"

"LAYLA!"

"Can i ask you for a favor...Tenebre...?"

"What exactly was that vision about? I have a bad feeling about all of this..."

* * *

Chapter 6 : Decision

* * *

**In Tenebre's memories ( Normal POV )**

They all watched as tears flowed down Tenebre's bloodied face as she said,

"What favor,Layla? Tell me,i'll do anything!" She said,

Layla chuckled weakly,let go of Tenebre's hand and ruffled her hair,

"Why not start by calling me 'Mom' for the next and last 5 years of my life?" Layla said, instantly breaking the tense atmosphere,

Tenebre was startled out of her tears,and started stuttering,

"W-W-Wha ?! T-This is not the time t-to joke a-around,Lay..."

"Hmmm?" Layla gave her a pointed look,

"...Mom..."Tenebre said reluctantly,

"That's ,next,help me up,looks like we've got quite a mess to clear up,due to your rather...hmm...overexcited entrance? "

Tenebre looked around Layla's room,and her jaw dropped open,

"Ha...Ha ha..." She laughed awkwardly,

Layla looked around and started listing out out,

"Hmm...Let's see...2 chairs,half my bed,3 windows,a few holes in my walls,a few soiled sheets and a section of my carpet,sigh...Oh well,its nothing we can't solve,but the problem now is how? I can't possibly come up with an explanation for all this..."

Layla sighed out loud,and after a moment,a light bulb went up on Tenebre's head,and she chanted,

"Time Ark : Restore!"

The broken chairs,bed and window begun to repair themselves,broken glass and wood flew back to where they belonged,Tenebre's blood erased itself from the sheets and the carpet,and thing went back to to what they were before Tenebre entered.

"Requip."

"WHOA WHOA WHOA! HOLD UP!" Gray screamed out.

BZZT! The scene froze to a stop.

"Yes,is there a problem?" Tenebre cocked her head to the side,a confused look on her face,

"Time Ark?! Requip?! Just how many magic types do you know?! And isn't the Time Ark supposed to be a Lost Magic?!"

Tenebre just sighed,and gave Gray a 'isn't it obvious' look,

"What have you learnt about me from watching my memories?" She asked him,

"Urm,you're female?" Gray said stupidly,

Everyone facepalmed themselves,except Natsu,who said,

"She's female?"

Every female and Exceed present fell anime-style,Tenebre quickly recovered,cleared her throat,gave Natsu and Gray THE LOOK,which made them hug each other in fear,and said,

"Isn't that obvious,Gray-san and Natsu-san...?" She said,with a dangerous glint in her voice,

"Aye!" the both of them squeaked out in fear,

Tenebre then looked at Gray,and continued to question him,

"What else do you know?"

"Urm... You're the Gatekeeper of the worlds?" He said in a trembling voice,

"Hmm,and?"

Gray pondered over this for a moment,then his face lighted up,and he exclaimed,

"Ah! Your half-angel,half-demon!"

Tenebre nodded at this,and said,

"You're close,so if i'm half-angel and half-demon,that makes me...?"

"Immortal!" Gray seemed close to the answer,

"Yes,so if i'm immortal...?" Tenebre prompted him,

"You can live forever,and that means you are able to learn any type of magic from it's creators or from its origins,which includes Lost Magic! Oh,so that's why you know many types of magic!"

"See,if you used your brain hard enough you would've arrived at the same answer even without prompting from me!" Tenebre said, and gave them both a hand to stand up,

But something else was bothering Gray,when he first saw the crystal Tenebre was in,he felt a familiar yet foreign magic from it,it was as if he felt it from somewhere before,from something,or maybe,from _someone. _He had to find out,ignoring Tenebre's outstretched hand,he stood up and looked into her eyes,

"By any chance,have you learnt Ice-Make magic from a woman called...called Ur?" He asked in a serious voice

"Ur? Isn't that your mentor,Gray? What has she got to do with this?" Lucy said,confusion evident in her voice,

"I'm not sure,but that's why i'm asking her now,it's just a hunch though." Gray looked at Tenebre uncertainly as he said this,

Tenebre pondered over Gray's question,Ur...Ur... Where did she hear that name before? Hmm,Ice-Make magic...Iced Shell...Then,a memory of a lady with short,dark purple hair with black eyes wearing nothing but her undergarments appeared in her head.

"Ah! Ur! That woman who strips every now and then!" Tenebre exclaimed out loud,

.

.

.

"HAR?!" All of them,except Gray exclaimed,

"So it was..." Lucy started hesitantly,

"Ur that..."Erza continued with a straight face,

"Made your stripping..."Wendy followed on timidly,hiding behind Charla,

"A HABIT?! GWAHAHAHAHA!" Natsu guffawed out loud,earning him a glare from everyone,plus Exceed,present.

Gray remained silent,as he continued to look at Tenebre,awaiting her answer,

"Yes,i learnt Ice-Make magic from her,i'm surprised that you only realised it now,Gray-san. You've should've realised it the moment you saw me encased it in the ice that killed your mentor,Iced Shell. "

Gray grabbed Tenebre by the front of her dress,and pulled her,and screamed into her face,

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! Iced Shell is a technique that uses the spirit and the physical body of the user to freeze the target into a block of ice. It is virtually unmeltable as it is not actually a block of ice. It channels the user's body into the form of ice, destroying their body. So are you trying to kill yourself?!"

Tenebre sighed,and rapped Gray lightly on his head with her fist,

"What did i just say moments ago? USE YOUR HEAD MORE! So think,since you already know what Iced Shell is and its side effects,using the fact that i'm immortal both in spirit and in body,what can you infer from this?" Tenebre asked Gray,

Letting go of Tenebre's dress,he thought,minutes passed,smoke could be seen coming up from Gray's head,and he gave up,

"ARGH! I overused my brain! I can't think anymore !" And he flopped onto the ground.

Tenebre shook her head,muttering words that would've made a sailor proud,she then looked at Lucy and said,

"Lucy-san,i'm pretty sure you've already pieced the pieces of this question together,so do you mind explaining on my behalf?"

Lucy nodded,then started explaining in a simple,easy-to-understand manner,

"Well,to summarise my findings,since Tenebre's body and spirit is immortal,so the side effects of Iced Shell would not happen to her as since Iced Shell sacrifices the body and spirit of its user,Tenebre's immortal part of the body would've prevented that from happening,so in conclusion,as long as Tenebre's immortal,or if someone deliberately released her from her own ice,she would remain in ice forever as she has a never ending life line."

"Bingo! So that's about it,so do you understand it now,Gray-san?" Tenebre said,looking at Gray,whose head finally stopped steaming after Lucy's clear yet simple explanation,

"So since it seems like you've finally understood,shall i continue?" Tenebre asked them,

Everyone nodded,but before Tenebre continued the scene,Gray said,

"Is it ok with you that you show me your memories of your training with her after all this over? "

"Its fine with me,you might be able to learn more about her and your magic after watching. So,since this matter has been resolved,i shall continue."

With that,she swung her right arm in front her,and the scene continued from where it paused,

A bright light filled the room,and when it died down,Tenebre's battered up armor was gone,only to be replaced with a simple white yukata,but within minutes,blood begun to seep through its cotton fabric,

Seeing Layla's concern over the amount of blood she was loosing,she tried to reassure her by saying,

"Just give me a few hours,those gashes would heal in time."

Layla didn't seemed convinced,she reached out and opened one of the drawers in her side table,and took out a huge first aid kit.

"Why do you have that with you...?" Tenebre said,

Layla gave her a look,and said,

"You always seem to be injured when you come looking for me,so i always keep one in hand.I've got most of my strength back now,so come here,i'll patch you up."

"Ahh...soka..." Tenebre said,looking warily at Layla who was giving her an accusing look,

"Come here,i don't want you getting blood on the carpet when you just cleaned it up."

Tenebre refused to budge from her spot,then,a dark aura formed around Layla,

"NOW." Was all she said,and Tenebre was instantly by her side,sitting down beside her on her bed.

"That's a good girl,now,sit still while i bandage you up."

Layla did her work in silence,only letting out a gasp when she peeled off Tenebre's blood soaked yukata and seeing the deep gashes on her back,stomach and on all other parts of her body. Then,while biting her lower lip,she proceeded to clean up Tenebre's wounds,cleaning it up,disinfecting it with alcohol,then bandaging it up. And when she was done,she headed to her bathroom to wash her hands.

When she was done washing off the blood off her hands,she flopped onto her bed in an unlady-like manner,and breathed out,

"Whew,i guess i overexerted myself,i'm beat!" Layla puffed out,while watching Tenebre put on requip into another yukata,a light blue one this time,with small white wave patterns on its edges.

"Well,actually,now that i think about it,5 years...That's not a lot of time i have left." Layla said,making Tenebre tense up again.

Tenebre can't help but feel guilty when she looked at Layla,she was going to be the cause for her friend's..dash that...her mother's death,she was going to be the one who is going to take Layla away from Lucy,who was still young.

As if sensing her internal struggle,Layla sat up,and hugged Tenebre,and making soothing circles on her back,

"Now,i'm not sure what exactly happened that caused me to have this curse,but i'm pretty sure you have an explanation for this,so,do you mind explaining?"

Tenebre pulled away from Layla's arms,and said,

"It all started a week after i last visited you, negotiations failed between both sides and even i couldn't hold them back, so a full scale civil war broke out between the dragons who wanted to live in peace with the humans and the dragons who thought otherwise ,both sides were equal in strength,so they were stuck in stalemate. The Dragons had already scarred and ripped apart many lands, you should've heard about that , and that was when the pro-human side put their plan to action,they taught the humans their magic,and the Dragon Slayers were born,then,they made them enter the war. The power of the Dragon Slayers had a significant change in the war,and victory was in the grasp of the Dragons on the pro-human side,if it isn't for one,small miscalculation."

" They gave them too much power,and even those who wished for peace with the humans,were slained by their hands. Amongst them,there was one who was bathed in the blood of the dragons,that 'man' slayed many dragons and bathed in their blood, and soon,this 'man's' skin itself became scales,his teeth became fangs and his very body became that of a dragon's,and i was there when it happened."

Tenebre scowled,and her fists clenched at her next words,

"His name is Acnologia,a dragon that used to be a human. He planned to become the king of all the dragons,but i thwarted his plan when i hid the dragons that survived his rampage back into their realm while distracting him, he went berserk, and i chained him down, but before i was able to sentence him, someone interrupted me,and he managed to escape,but before he flew away,he told me that he would make me suffer,by...by killing off my precious lady,which means...you."

Tenebre's voice cracked at the last word,pain and guilt was evident in her voice,

"I'm so sorry,Layla! I should've never dragged you into this! I should've just left when you first saw me. I should've just minded my own business and..."

Layla put a finger to Tenebre's lips,and shushed her,

"Shhhh,its not all your fault,it was partly my fault for nosing into business that was not mine to bother in,i had already saw this coming,but having it actually happening it to me is quite a shock." Layla said,while looking seriously into Tenebre's shocked ones.

"What do you mean?" Tenebre asked Layla,then,it was Layla's turn to look guilty,

"Actually,i've kept a secret from you,but i think it's time i told you. But before that,Tenebre,can you make me a promise?"

"...Yes..." Tenebre said,looking at Layla intently,

"After my 5 years are up,can you look after Lucy on my behalf? I want you to really become like a older-sister to her,so take care of her after i'm gone,protect her from harm,and be there for her when she needs you. Can you do that for me?"

Tenebre was shocked by Layla's statement. She wanted the person who cut short her life to take care of her daughter?

"I can't do that Layl..."

Layla gave her a look again,

"...Mom... I'm not worthy! I'm the one that's going to take you away from her in the first place,how on earth is she going to let the cause of her mother's death take care of her?!"

"Hmm,good question."

They sat on the bed in silence after that,then,Layla spoke up,

"Ok,since you think of it this way,then i shall make a little change to the promise i want you to make to me, i still want you to take care of her and to protect her,but instead of being where she can see you,i want to to fulfill your promise from afar,you will not come in contact with her,you are only to show yourself to her once you think she's ready,you only can watch her from afar and protect her using indirect methods.

"I think this method suits the way you work,but when she turns 18,i want you to tell her everything about my death,the truth behind it,as much as i dislike lying to Lucy,i'll make sure that she will not remember ever meeting you and make sure that she knows nothing about us,i believe she would've matured into a fine lady by then,so what she decides to do would be up to her,but whatever decision she makes,can you promise me that you'll still watch over her? Can you do this for me? Even if she condemns you,can you still do this for me? I know i might sound selfish by asking you to do this,but still,can you?"

Tenebre was silent as she thought,then she stood up,and kneeled in front of Layla,and said solemnly with her hand above her heart,

"I,Tenebre Akarusa,Gatekeeper of the Worlds,hereby swear on her life that she would keep this promise to Lady Layla Heartphillia,Lady of the Stars, for as long as she lives."

When she said this,a soft gold light came out from her right wrist that was over her heart,and when the light died down,a light golden tattoo was around her wrist,small wave like swirls entwined together with small stars to create a 'bracelet' around her wrist.

Tenebre stood up,and said,

"I've just made a Binding Oath,as the name states,it binds me to my oath to you,so if i do anything that breaks this promise in any way,immortal or not,it'll kill me on the spot."

Layla looked at Tenebre,

Tenebre looked back at Layla,

Layla gestured for Tenebre to come closer to her,

Tenebre walked closer to Layla,

the moment Tenebre was in reaching range,Layla hit her on her head,hard.

BONK!

"You baka! I told you to make a promise,a simple promise! Not a friggin oath!" Layla screeched into Tenebre's eyes,pulling Tenebre's ears towards her mouth,

Unflinching,Tenebre said as she smiled at Layla's antics,

"Well,didn't you say a Celestial Mage never breaks her promises? So you can just think of this as the same thing,except for the part about death." Her voice drifted off on her last words as she looked at Layla sheepishly. Layla was about to scold her again,but she stopped herself,and gave Tenebre a small smile and gave her a hug,and said,

"You baka...Always doing things the extreme way..."

Layla opened her mouth to say something else,but Tenebre cut her off,

"Now putting that aside,what's this thing you kept from me?"

Whatever words that Layla was about to say immediately went out the window as her face then turned serious,it was the first time Tenebre saw Layla look so serious,sensing that this was a an important matter,Tenebre shut up,

They saw Layla open her mouth,but before they could hear anything come out of it,the scene shifted,

Tenebre turned and looked at the confused faces of Lucy,Natsu,Gray,Erza,Wendy,Happy and Charla,then she said,

"There was no need for all you you to know about Layla's secret,it's a family secret,but,it's a family secret that even Lucy does not know,so don't pressure her for details."

Then she looked into Lucy's eyes,and said,

"I'll tell you in time,but that time is not now."

**( Lucy's POV )**

What did she mean by 'that time is not now' ? She said that it's a family secret,so why does she,a person that is not related to me and not part of my family knows something that even i don't know about?

Just as i finished my thought,i realised that i spoke it out loud,oh shit,did she hear me? As if she was answering my thought,I heard Tenebre say,

" It seems like Layla really thought of me as part as her family when she told me this secret and gave me the task of telling this to you when the time was right. So the fact that i'm not telling you now is because it is indeed not time yet. So please,bear with me till then."

Oh yeah,i just remembered that Mom made her my older sister,so it makes sense,well,in a way,that she tell her our family secret. But something else was bothering me,but before i could ask her about it,Erza beat me to it,

"Excuse me,Tenebre-san,but according to the promise you made,you promised to watch over and protect Lucy from afar,so why didn't you? You saw what she's been through,but you weren't there to protect her when we,Fairy Tail, were not there to protect her. So isn't this a breach of your promise?"

I saw Tenebre just look at Erza in a cold and calculative face,and her voice just as cold as the ice she was trapped in,

"What makes you think that i've been doing nothing for the past few years,Erza-san? I HAVE been doing my best to do what i can to help and protect her,but i have my limits you know.I would've preferred to be outside this ice to be beside Lucy at all times to protect her though."

"But why didn't you?" Erza said back,

"Did you think i did not want to? I made a promise,a promise to only protect her from harm INDIRECTLY,so do you think i actually wanted Lucy to get hurt? Do you think that it does not hurt to watch my beloved friend's daughter get hurt? DO YOU?!" Tenebre's voice increased in volume with every word she said,rage evident in her face,

The scene changed as she spoke,and i saw her words take form as her memories behind her.

"Do you think i wanted to cause her death?! EVERYDAY i watched over her and Lucy from afar,protecting them from harm in my own way,the INDIRECT way,i couldn't speak to her,let less even to go close to her."

I saw her watch my younger self and Mom play in the garden while she hid within the shadows of the trees nearby,then disappearing when we went back into the safety of the mansion that already had magical wards created to protect us that were made by her.

"Do you think i wanted to watch my friend give up her magic and to live a life without her beloved spirit friends? Do you think i wanted to watch her die in front of my eyes and watch Lucy cry her heart out in pain due to the loss of her mother?"

The scene turned into a memory that had already been burned into my mind,but it was in Tenebre's point of view this time,i saw my younger self,standing in front of my mother's coffin in the rain,brawling my eyes out,wailing out,

"MOMMA!"

I watched as her fists clench due to the lies that every adult present fed me lies about my mother's death just to comfort me,and i watched as she was helpless to do anything to comfort me,and just leaving through an invisible gate she created.

"Do you think i didn't want to comfort her each time her father ignored her or scolded her when she interrupted his work? Everyday she grew up, every time she was hurt,i can't do much to help her. Saying and listening to it might be easy,but protecting people from harm indirectly is not easy. So what could i do? I can't let my actions deprive Lucy of what she needs to know from her mother from me,so i made a decision. To seal myself in unbreakable, unmeltable ice. This way,all i can do to help her can only be done the indirect way. I was the one that placed small coincidences that led Lucy to Fairy Tail,though i only wanted to lead her there,but then Fate has its ways of helping me by making Natsu-san and her meet at Hargeon. With a new family who was sworn to protect every member of their Fairy Tail family,i believed that my job as a protector could be shared with you all,but it seems like she got into more trouble by being around you people,but Lucy didn't mind,so i did nothing. "

Our adventures in her point of view began to play behind her,

" A suicidal S-class quest,i made sure Erza-san here could find a ship that would follow her orders so that she could help, a kidnapping by Phantom Lord,i made sure that that dark guild member was left behind for Natsu-san to find Lucy, and the most recent one, the Infinity Castle,was the one who made sure that group of archaeologists that had connections with your dad hear about your journey for the pieces of the clock."

So all these were her doing? I feel quite guilty now,she did so much for me,but all i did to repay her was my doubt in her words and i even despised her for a moment when she knew something that was meant for me.

**( Normal POV )**

Tenebre finished with a huff,then taking a few breaths to get back her composure and wiping off a few stray tears that escaped from her eyes,she then looked at Erza face,and said,

"So did you really think i would turn my back on a promise i made to Layla? If i did,i wouldn't even be here talking to you now Erza-san,the Binding Oath would've made sure of that."

As if to prove her point,she held her right hand up to let us see the tattoo on her wrist,she then let it fall back to her side,she then said,

"I believe i have show you all that there was to be shown to you,"

Tenebre then turned to look at Lucy,and said,

"What you chose to do now is up to you,just like Layla said,but i have something to ask of you,Lucy."

And with that,she kneeled down on one knee in front of her,just like she did to her mother,and said,

"I know that even if you do not want to admit it,you still resent me for being part of the cause that killed your mother,hate me if you want,punish me if you must,but i ask for your forgiveness. I know that asking this from you is a bit thick-skinned of me,considering that i was the indirect cause of your mother's death,but even with this knowledge,i just had to know for myself. Lucy,can you forgive me?

When she finished,she was greeted with silence,and she looked up,and saw Lucy was frozen in her spot.

"Lushee~Are you here?" Happy waved his paws in front of Lucy's blank,frozen face,but she did not respond,let's see what's going on in her head shall we?

**( Lucy's POV )**

OH MY MAVIS,she just asked me the question,THE question that i dreaded to ?! Should i forgive her? But she was part of the reason my mother died. But then again,Mom brought it upon herself when she nosed into business that wasn't for her to bother in. WHAT SHOULD I DO?! I mentally pulled my hair,this is a first in many months that i don't know what to do,oh Mavis,what should i do,what would Mom do?

A light bulb lit above my head,that's it! What would Mom do! Hmm,what would Mom do...?

Well,knowing Mom,she would listen to her reason first,check,that's exactly what i just did,then she would...urm...use her instincts? That's what she always does,so shall i do the same? Well,according to my instincts,Tenebre doesn't seem like a bad person,she just seem like a 18 year old girl that really needs a hug,that needs a family.

Eh? That sounds like me before i met Fairy Tail. So maybe she's feeling the same way as i felt then! But she isn't 18,but she said that she stopped ageing at 18,so i'll just treat her that way,i don't even want to guess how old she exactly is. But the more important question here is should i forgive her? She IS asking me for forgiveness,and i'm not really the type to dwell on past matters,hmm... ARGH! THis is not like me at all! Firming up my voice and my resolve,i look at my nakama and more importantly,at Tenebre,and said,

"I have made my decision..."

* * *

**What exactly is Layla's secret? Why did Layla tell Tenebre to only tell when the time is right? And what is Lucy's decision? Find out next Sunday in Chapter 7 : Nakama!**

Preview of Chapter 7 :

"Do you mean it?"

"Mou! Don't make fun of me!"

"YOU LEFT ME BEHIND!"

"Opps,i forgot to mention..."

"RUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN!"

* * *

**And that's a wrap! How was it? Good? Bad? Let me know through that amazing review icon of happiness! How many of you read the newest chapter of Fairy Tail? I got a feeling that Minerva lying to Sting,poor guy though,losing his partner,oh well,we have to keep reading to find out!**

**A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THAT REVIEWED AND FOLLOWED MY STORY! HONTONI ARIGATO MINNA!**

**R&R!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	7. Chapter 7 - Nakama

**Kanae : ( winces in pain ) Itai... Mira-san,a little gentler please?**

**Mirajane : ( just finished disinfecting Kanae's wounds,and starting to bandage them) Ara ara~ What did you do to get yourself into so much trouble,hmm? Kanae?**

**Kanae : ( mumbles ) I just said some things,wrote some things,did some things and...**

**Mirajane : Ara~ Kanae,you've been busy i see.**

**Kanae : Yeah,kinda..(gets cut off)**

**Mirajane : ( voice turns dark )Busy pissing people off.**

**Kanae : ( turns pale ) I've got a bad feeling...**

**Mirajane : ( smiles scarily ) Say,why haven't you wrote any fluffy moments yet?**

**Kanae : ...Huh? **

**Mirajane : The NaLu moments! Maybe Gruvia too! And don't forget GaLe,Jerza and etc etc... ( rambles on into lala land )**

**Kanae : ( sweatdrops )Ah...So that was what she meant...**

**Mirajane : The romance! Where is it?! I demand to have a hand in getting them together! ( Takes-over into Satan Soul )**

**Kanae : WHOA! Mira-san! Chill! And don't kill me! I've yet to finish my story,which means if you kill me now,you won't be able to read your fluffy scenes!**

**Mirajane : ( refuses to undo Take-Over,narrows eyes at Kanae )**

**Kanae : ( mumbles ) I might just add a scene where Natsu and Lucy's child might appear in...**

**Mirajane : Natsu and Lucy's child? ( Imagines a mini blond Natsu and a mini pink haired Lucy,and faints,turning back to normal,and mumbles ) M-mini... Na-Natsu...blond...too cute...**

**Kanae : ( sweatdrops ) O-okay...? Ahem,okay,no more time to waste! ( Looks at audience ) Hai hai! Fairy Tail belongs to the awesome Hiro Mashima sensei,not me,i'm just a normal person that just came up with a random idea with Fairy Tail in it. And with that,i present to you Chapter 7 : Nakama !**

**Mirajane : ( still unconscious in NaLu wonderland )A mini Natsu with long pink hair...wearing a dress...**

**( Updated 08/06/13 )**

* * *

**Previously on GOTEG: Tenebre **

"Make me a promise..."

"Well,actually,now that i think about it,5 years...That's not a lot of time i have left."

"MOMMA!"

"So why didn't you?!"

"...what's this thing you kept from me?"

"I was not worthy..."

"I have made my decision..."

* * *

Chapter 7 : Nakama

* * *

**In Tenebre's memories ( Normal POV )**

"But...before i say it...urm...Tenebre-san? Can you please stand up first? There's no need for you to kneel down before me." Lucy said as she stretched out her right hand to help Tenebre up,

Hesitating at first,but asking her hand in the end,Tenebre stood up,and said,

"So...What's your decision?"

Lucy looked at her feet as she kicked some invisible stones on the flat,white ground and she clasps her hands behind her.

"Ano...I don't really know how to say this...?" Lucy said,

"Well,i DID hate you at first,after i heard that you were part of the reason behind my mother's death,but after watching your memories,it didn't seemed intentional,ato...how do i say this...My mother always have this 'thing' that draws people to her,you were just drawn to her,and she to you,so she asking about your life and work was kind of inevitable,well,since you always seem to be injured when you see her." Lucy stared at Tenebre pointedly as she said this,making Tenebre rub the back of her head sheepishly,then she says,

"I don't even want to know how many bandages my mother had to use...But the point is,it wasn't all your fault,it was my mother's just happened to nose into business that wasn't hers to bother in,and she said that she saw it coming,although i have no idea how she did,so she knows full well what she was getting into,so it wasn't all your fault." Lucy then smiled warmly at Tenebre,and then she walked up to her,and hugged her,

"When i was seeing your memories,you kind of reminded me of myself before i joined Fairy Tail,lonely and sad,a girl who really needs a good hug,and the warmth of a family,though you felt it from my mother when you were with her,but now since she's no longer here,can i take her place in her stead?"

This surprised Tenebre,and she asked with a shaky voice,

"What do you mean? Don't you hate me for what i've done? And what do you mean take her place?"

Letting go of Tenebre from her hug,Lucy looked into Tenebre's watery eyes,and giggled,

"Well,i'm not the kind of person to stay angry at one person for a long time,much less hate,so to put this in a simpler manner,you're forgiven. As simple as that you're forgiven." Lucy said,smiling her famous smile when she said it.

The tears that Tenebre tried to hold back flowed down her porcelain cheeks,

"Do you mean it? Do you really mean it,Lucy? Even after you saw how i caused your mother's death and..." Tenebre rambled on as tears continued to stream down her cheeks,

Lucy sighed,then she gave Tenebre a light punch on her head,startling Tenebre out of her ramble,and scolded her,

"You stubborn girl,i just said that you are forgiven,is that so hard to believe?!" Lucy pouted as she said this,then she smiled and pulled both of Tenebre's cheeks,

" Although it's not clear,i just remembered a story my Mom told me once,it was a story of a girl,though she is like an adult at times,but she's actually a hard-headed and sometimes frustratingly stubborn girl,when she told me this story,she had a fond look on her face,and i think,she was talking about you. You stubborn mule." Lucy said teasingly,pinching her cheeks harder,

Pouting a little,Tenebre flushed a light pink,

"Mou! Don't make fun of me!"

Giggling at Tenebre's childish act,Lucy let go of her red cheeks,Tenebre then said as she rubbed her cheeks,

"You're just like your mother,always making fun of me."

Lucy smiled at this,then she said,

"Well! Since this is finally done,i can't wait to take a nice,long,hot bath! " Lucy stretched her body,and let out a long sigh,just imagining how relaxing it would be,

"I'M HUNGRY! LET GET OUT OF HERE ALREADY!" Natsu roared out,rolling on the floor like a child,making everyone wince at his voice as it echoed around the white,enclosed room.

"OI! Flame brain! Act your age for once would ya?!" Gray shouted back at him,

"WHAT?! YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM,STRIPPER?!" Natsu retorted back at Gray,

And in a split second,their foreheads slammed against each other's,as a red and blue aura flared up behind them,glaring at each other they screamed,

"YOU WANNA GO, SQUINTY?!"

"BRING IT ON, POINTY!"

And Tenebre slapped her hands together,remembering something,

"Ah! I almost forgot! Erza-san? I believe we have some unfinished business with the two gentlemen here." Tenebre said as she smiled an eerie smile,almost mirroring the wicked smile that Erza had on as she remembered what she had forgotten to do.

Doing everything in sync,they whipped their heads to smile at Natsu and Gray,who were hugging each other in fear when they saw them smile,a smile that promised a lot of pain,they approached their prey,they said,

"Natsu/Natsu-san,how dare you try to sleep together with Lucy without her permission?"

As Gray tried to sneak away,a bunch of ropes suddenly appeared,and wrapped themselves around him and Natsu,Tenebre tsked,and she said in a sickly sweet voice,

"Ah ah~ Gray-san,you did something that i deem as unforgivable to Lucy,so you're not getting away from this,and don't forget,you're all in my dreamscape,i can manifest whatever i want in here."

And with an evil glint in her eyes,she growled,

" How DARE you taint my little sister's pure eyes with your constant stripping and even daring to appear naked when she first entered Fairy Tail and DARE to ask her for her undergarments?!"

Gray's face paled and he started sweating buckets,and he paled even more when he realized that Erza's glaring at him too,

"Oh~ That happened when i was on a quest,i didn't know about that~Tenebre-san,i believe we have the same goal in mind,shall we execute it together?"

Nodding in sync,they turned back their attention to their cowering prey,cracking their knuckles again,they commenced their punishment,

Fists flew,tables were thrown,chairs were broken and so were bones.

BOOM! FWEW! CRACK! OOOFFF!

While Charla covered Wendy's ears to prevent her from hearing the proficiencies that would've put a sailor into retirement,Happy covered her eyes to prevent her from witnessing the increasingly gruesome punishment being carried out.

Other than Wendy,who was innocently unaware of the events in front of her,Happy,Charla and Lucy sweatdropped,

"Oi oi,where did the chairs and tables even come out from?"Lucy said as she watched Erza and Tenebre work together as if they've known each other since forever to punish the two poor idiots.

"Well,Tenebre-san just mentioned that we are still in her dreamscape,so she probably manifested some tables and chairs that look like those from our guild so Erza-san can have an easier time punishing them." Charla theorized as a proud smile crept up her face,

"Wow,Charla you're so smart!" Happy said admiringly at her,

"Hmph,of course!" Charla said,while turning her face away from Happy,

"Ne ne,Charla~ Do you want a fish?" Happy asked shyly,while digging out a ribbon wrapped fish from his backpack,ignoring Happy with a "Hmph!",Charla turned her head away from Happy,

Discouraged,Happy floated over to Lucy and landed on her shoulder,sulking,Lucy smiled and patted Happy lightly on his head to encouraged him,

"No worries she'll warm up to you soon,don't give up!"

Puffing/pumping himself up and regaining his happiness,Happy meowed/shouted out with his normal enthusiasm,

"Aye Sir!"

Lucy smiled at Happy,but it quickly turned into a scowl as she took a closer look at the fish he tried to present to Charla,

"Happy... ISN'T THAT MY RIBBON?!" Lucy growled out,a dark aura seeping out from her body,as she grabbed him by both of his cheeks,

"What do you think you're doing,you baka neko,using my favorite blue ribbon without my permission to wrap up your fish?!" Lucy said as she pulled his cheeks,

"Eeep! Lushee's scary!" Happy squeaked(?) out,

"You could have ask me for it,not just take it from me,i would have gladly gave it to you you know? Baka neko." Lucy let go of Happy,and flew behind Wendy to avoid her wrath,

"Sworrie Lushee!" Happy said as he massaged his sore cheeks,

BANG! CRASH!

"What? You said something,Happy?" Lucy asked,straining her ears to hear what Happy was saying over the racket ,

"I SAID I AM SORRY LUSHEE!" Happy shouted over the noise,

"GET BACK HERE!"

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!"

CRACK! FLOP!

"OOOFF!"

"OUCH!"

Lucy's eyebrows twitched,and she shouted again,

"WHAT DID YOU SAY HAPPY?!"

"I SAID-"

FWOOM! FHEW!CRASH!

Something pink and red flew past them in a flash,and Lucy's hair was blown in that direction,and when she looked in that direction,a black blur went past her and into the cloud of smoke that the pink and red blur created,

"ACK!"

"TAKE THIS!"

"OOFFF!"

"GO TO HELL!"

Lucy's eye twitched,and she snapped,

"OI! STOP ACTING LIKE KIDS AND STOP FIGHTING ALREADY!"

The smoke cleared,and what Lucy,Happy and Charla saw made them all sweat drop,

Erza had a foot that was being bitten by Natsu ,who was yanking onto Tenebre's hair,while holding a sword at Gray's neck,who had a foot on his face that belonged to Tenebre,who was also stepping on Natsu's face as he was pulling her hair while she was holding a bar stool at Natsu's head and trying to keep Gray's pants on as he tried to take it off.

But after seeing Lucy's pissed off face,Happy's dumbstruck face,Charla's i-can't-believe-i-know-this-people face and Wendy's i-don't know-what's-happening innocent face,they broke apart from their various positions,Erza straightened her armour,Gray was trying to untie the magic rope keeping his pants on,Tenebre soothed her hair and her dress and Natsu was trying to rub off the footprint on his face,they all glared at each other while doing all this.

But when they felt a murderous aura flare up behind them,they turned back,and saw Lucy.

Lucy was pissed,actually,more than pissed,she crossed her hands in front of her,making her boobs look bigger,and tapped her right foot repeatedly as a huge tick mark appeared on her forehead,and she said,

"May i know,how old all of you are?"

"20." Erza said proudly.

"19." Gray said in a pissed voice,giving up on untying Tenebre's magic rope from his pants.

"Same as Stripper here." Natsu said,earning a glare from everyone present ,except Wendy and Happy.

"I'm-" Tenebre was interrupted when Lucy started to shake her head and hand frantically in front of her,then she said,

"On second thought,i do not want to know how old you are."

Tenebre grinned at this,then she said,

"You can just think i'm 18,the same age as you then. That's the age that Layla told me that i look like."

Lucy nodded at this,then she switched back into her scary mode,and said,

"All of you are in you 18s,19s and 20s,and here you are acting like 5 year old kids,jeez!"

Then she changed back to normal,and paled immediately as she realized what she had just done,she just scolded:

1. The scariest female in the whole of Fairy Tail

2. Two of the most powerful mages she knew

3. An half-angel and demon lady who her mother made as her older sister

Expecting the worst when she saw all of them staring at her,she was about to spew a stream of apologies when she heard a laugh,

"Pfft! HAHAHAHAHA!" It was Gray,holding his sides as he laughed till tears could be seen at the side of his eyes,then he guffawed out,

"Oh Mavis! This is a first! Who knew that our dear Lucy could turn out to be such a devil when she's pissed,she even scolded the mighty Erza herself! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Soon,just as he finally processed what Lucy did,Natsu joined Gray in his laughing spree,now both rolling on the floor like a bunch of laughter was contagious,and soon,everyone found themselves smiling at their antics.

Then as their laughter died down,Lucy found herself panicking again,

"Omigoshomigoshomigosh! Is Erza going to kill me? Or is Gray going to freeze me to death? Or-"

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the clinking of armour approaching her,and she froze when she realised that Erza was just in front of her,

Erza stared at her with her piercing brown eyes,making Lucy weak-kneed before her might,when Lucy was about to write her will in her head,she was surprised when Erza suddenly patted her on her back,and smiling,

"You should be like this more often,Lucy! Knowing to be tough and scolding people when they do something wrong,well done,Lucy!"

But before Lucy had the chance to sigh in relief,Erza let out her own aura,and she froze again,

"But don't do this to often you hear me?"

Lucy nodded like her life's depend on it,and she finally sighed when Erza backed down,then she turned to look at Tenebre,and said,

"Well,lets get out of here shall we? I have a cak...ahem...I'm sure Master is worried about us since we've been here since yesterday,and i'm sure Lucy would like to introduce our newest member into the family,isn't that right,Lucy?"

Lucy nodded happily,much to Tenebre's confusion,

"Huh? What new member?"

All of them grinned at Tenebre,making Tenebre feel uncomfortable suddenly,then,Wendy,who was quiet all this while as she didn't know what was going on,said with a timid smile,

"Its you,Tenebre-san,you're going to be our newest member."

"W-Wha?! When?! Wha?! HAR?!" Tenebre spluttered out,

They all laughed at Tenebre's reaction,then Lucy said,

"Why not? Your promise only said that your cannot come in contact with me until i'm 18,but now that i'm 18,doesn't that mean that you can follow us now? You don't have to be alone anymore! You have Fairy Tail and me now! We'll be your new family!"

Tenebre was rendered speechless,these people want her as part of their family? A person they barely knew for less than a few hours?

"But why? I'm fine staying alone to atone for my sins to Lucy,but why do you guys invite me,a person you barely know,into your family?"

Natsu grinned at this,and said with a wide grin,

"Geez,must there be a reason for everything? And like the old man always says : "There are people in this world that enjoy being alone, but there isn't a single person who can bear solitude."! So why be alone when you can be surrounded by your family,your nakama?!'

A moment of silence...

.

.

.

"WHOA!' Everyone fell onto the ground in shock,including Tenebre's translucent figure,

"Ash Brain.." Gray said,jaw scraping onto the ground,

"Said.."Lucy continued,a hand covering her mouth,

"Something.." Erza muttered,trying to cover her shock

"Smart?!" Happy laughed out,

"THE WORLD'S ENDING!" Gray screamed out,earning himself a punch from Natsu,

"WHAT DID YOU SAY,STRIPPER?!

"WHAT?! SOMETHING WRONG MATCHSTICK?!"

Gray got back up and was about to launch himself at Natsu when a hand shot out and grabbed them by their necks,slammed their heads together,giving them both a huge bump on the head.

"Hai hai! Let's leave the headbanging body trashing moments to later! We have more important things to do now,am i right Natsu-san and Gray-san?" Tenebre said,smiling a creepy smile.

"Aye sir!" The both of them squeaked out in fear.

Lucy,Happy,Charla and Wendy sweat dropped while Erza just says,

"Hmm,i sense that Tenebre would be a great new addition to Fairy Tail.."Erza crosses her arms and nods her head in approval,then she looked at Tenebre ,who was grabbing Natsu and Gray(who finally found his shirt) by their collars,and said,

"So...What's this important thing you were talking about,Tenebre? And is it ok for me to drop the honorifics,we are going to be family after all,aren't we?"

Tenebre dropped the both of them,dusted her hands and said,

"It's ok to drop the honorifics,cause i...urm...actually,i wanted to ask if i could join Fairy Tail after Lucy forgived me,but it seems like you've beaten me to it,Erza-san,but now,let's go back to the real world shall we? I can hear Serpe's whining from here,and it's getting annoying."

Tenebre stretched out her hands to Erza and Lucy,smiling,they took her hand,then they too stretched out their hands to Natsu and Gray,then Happy,Charla and Wendy joined the floor beneath them started glowing a pale white,then Tenebre whispered,

"Return."

And,their world went dark.

**Meanwhile,back at Tenebre's crystal ( Normal POV )**

In the cave,the sight there was one which would have made an artist faint out of happiness,the slow falling of snow and the light reflecting off the icicles on the ceiling and them made them look like fairies frolicking and dancing with the wind,and in the middle of the cave,a majestic crystal stood there,and within it,a lady slept,her hair spread out and floating,making it look like a halo above her head,and yet,contrasting the beauty surrounding it,a gloomy aura was filling up a corner of the cave.

In the middle of the gloom where it was at its thickest,squatted Serpe,who was sulking in the corner,and growing mushrooms there,how mushrooms could grow in the cold,freezing climate there? No one knows.

"Tenebre-sama...You meanie...leaving me alone..." Serpe grumbled,a purple-spotted blue mushroom sprouted from the spot he was working on,

then,a bright light filled the cave,and when Serpe turned around,his ears were immediately assulted with a loud roar,

"VOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIII! WE'RE BACK!" Natsu roared out,causing a few icicles to drop from the ceiling,

Gray just opened his eyes,took a deep breath,and an icicle almost ripped off his arm,falling on the snow in shock,he scrambled away from it,then he glared at Natsu,

"Oi Tabasco Freak! Ya trying to kill me!" Gray was screaming at first,but then he slowly faded into a mutter when he saw Natsu being punished by Erza.

Erza,who was grabbing Natsu by his scarf,was slapping him repeatedly while reprimanding him,

"Natsu! Are you trying to kill everyone here?! You could've caused the ceiling to collapse! "

Then,a soft blue light came out from the crystal,and a translucent Tenebre came out of it,when she opened her eyes,she said,

"Well,since one problem was solved in my memories just now,now there's another problem to solve,and for this,i need all of your help," She paused and started floating closer towards her crystal,

"As you can see,my physical body is still stuck in ice,i can dispel it,but the only problem is that i'm using Iced Shell,which all of you already know what it's effects are and what it does,so the ice is already imbued with my magic,so one small shard can spell disaster,so when i break the ice,i want all of you to collect all the shards,ALL of it.I'll make it easier for all of you by pausing the time of the shards when it falls with my Arc of Time,so can you do this for me? " Tenebre placed a hand on the crystal,turned around and looked at them.

"Why don't i just melt it? It'll make it so much easier!" Natsu said,lighting up his fist,

Tenebre shook her head,and said,

"Didn't you hear? Iced Shell is a kind of ice that can not be melted,you should know this first hand after the Deliora incident,but the person who made the ice is able to break it."

All of them looked at each other,and nodded,Tenebre nodded back at them,but before she could do anything,a green blur flew through her,and landed at Team Natsu plus Wendy and Charla's feet.

The green blur was Serpe, and he was brawling out loud while trying ( key word : TRYING ) to hug Tenebre's legs,

"YOU LEFT ME BEHIND! TENEBRE-SAMA YOU MEANIE!"

Everone,except Tenebre,Lucy and Serpe,felt their jaw drop,was this the same guy that created so much trouble for them just now?

All Tenebre did was to look at Serpe,and said,

"It's time."

These two words were all that were needed to sober Serpe up,and his tace turned serious,and he said,

"I understand,Tenebre-sama."

Tenebre then turned to look at the rest,and said,

"I'll start then."

She disappears,minutes passed,and yet nothing was happening,all,except Serpe,were getting restless,Natsu then broke the silence,

"Argh! How long is she going to take?!" He yelled out loud,

Serpe just looked at him calmly,and says,

"Just a bit longer,dispelling a powerful ice like this takes up alot of energy,magic and time. Just a few more minutes,i feel her magic already."

True to Serpe's words,they started to feel a foreign yet strong magic magical aura filling up the cave,

CRACK!

A huge crack appeared at the side of the crystal,then,small cracks started forming and spreading throughout the crystal, a small shard came off,and fell,

"Get ready!" Serpe shouted,getting ready to run,

Then,the whole crystal fell apart,shards of different shape and sizes started to fall onto the ground,and when the first crystal touched the surface of the snow,everything went into slow motion,the crystals started to fall in a slower speed,and the gang flew into action.

"Ice-Make:Net!"

"Gate of the Maiden,I open thee! Virgo!"

"Requip: Flight Armour!"

"Happy/Charla! Let's go!"

While Natsu and the others were busy collecting every single shard of crystal,Serpe was running,running to catch the falling body of his master.

Tenebre was falling,and she was falling fast,her hair whipped wildly above her head as she fell head first.

Diving to catch his master in time,Serpe grunted as he skid on the snow on his back,but he didn't care about the pain,all he could think about was of his beloved master's safety.

"Let me make it in time!" He thought desperately as he saw his master's body come closer to the ground,

Tenebre's body landed in Serpe hands just in time,and skidding to a stop by jamming his legs in to the snow,Serpe carried her body bridal-style,and using his hand,he swept away hair from her still sleeping face and adjusted her dress,then,he stood up,

"Welcome back,Tenebre-sama." Serpe smiled tenderly at his master as he said this,then,he walked towards the rest,who was making sure they got everything,and said,

"Thank you all for your help,i am grateful." He bowed,

Natsu grinned at this,and gave Serpe a thumbs up,

"No problem! We're Nakama after all!"

"How is she?" Lucy asked,worried about Tenebre as she still hasn't woke up,but when she put a hand on her shoulder,she immediately drew her hand back,

"Mavis! She freezing! Is she ok?" Lucy looked at Serpe,feeling worry in the pit of her stomach.

"She's fine,she just needs to get to a warmer place,who knows what being stuck in ice for around a decade would do to her body." Serpe reassured Lucy,seeing that she was close to panicking,

They all sighed in relief,then Serpe continued,

"Well,that's one thing done,now,how are we going to transport all this crystals back to your guild? "

"Hime,i might be able to help with that." Virgo said,who was standing beside the bag/net of crystals.

"Hime,i can take this back to the Celestial Spirit world for now,but when you reach your guild,you can summon me again and i'll bring the crystals together with me. Tenebre-sama has done alot for us,so we would like to repay her for that." Virgo said with her nomal pokerface.

"That's a good idea,Virgo. Thank you!" Lucy clapped her hands together happily,

"Is it time for a punishment,Hime?" Virgo asked,

"NO! And i'll never will! You can go back now,Virgo!" Lucy shouted out,waving her hands in front of her,

"Yes,Hime." And with a poof,both Virgo and the bag of crystals were gone.

"That's another done! Now..."

The ground started to tremble violently,the ceiling started to shake too,then,Serpe exclaimed,

"Opps,i forgot to mention,or rather,Tenebre-sama forgot to mention,after being in ice for so long,her crystal became a permanent part of the cave, so if it's removed,the entire cave will collapse!" Serpe chirped out,smiling as if there was nothing wrong.

They all looked at Serpe incredulously,and in sync,they screamed,

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US EARLIER?!" and with that,a portion of the ceiling fell down,

"RUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNN!"

All with the same thought in mind,they took off into the tunnel for the surface.

But what they didn't notice was a small,blue light glinting in the snow behind them.

And...the whole cave collapsed.

* * *

**Would the gang escape from the cave? Would they make it to Fairy Tail? What would happen if they do? And what is that small,blue light? Stay tuned next Sunday to find out in Chapter 8 : Journey!**

Preview of Chapter 8:

"She's still so cold.."

"...I don't feel so good..."

"I'll try my best!"

" HEHHHHHHHH?!"

_"She has returned..."_

* * *

**And that's Chapter 7 done! How was it? Amazingly awsome or so horrible your eyes hurt? Feel free to tell me through that awesome review button that is calling out to you to review!**

**And to all my wonderful readers! Thank you for your support and i hope that you'll continue to do so!**

**R&R!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	8. Chapter 8 - Journey

**Kanae: Heya all! And welcome to another chapter of GOTEG : Tenebre ! And this week,we have no guest! Disappointed aren't cha? But i guess i need to take a break from all the killing/maiming/threatening for a ...  
**

**Cana: *Hic* Wh-ere *HIC* ye hell am aye? *HIC***

**Kanae: KYA! Where did ya come out from?!**

**Cana: *HIC* Ere ye hell dic i come *HIC* from? I on't ow! ( takes a huge chug from her barrel ) Gyaah! That's good!**

**Kanae: ( swaet drops )You're drunk,aren't cha? Just how much did you drink?**

**Cana: *BURP* Opps! Pardon meh! *HIC* Maybeh just 14 barrels or so? *HIC* Its othing much,its mothing! *HIC* ( takes another chug ) Ahhh!**

**Kanae: ( Jaw drops ) 14 BARRELS?! NOTHING?! **

**Cana: ( sways happily ) Yep! It's *HIC* mothing! ( dumps barrel aside,and takes a new one out out of nowhere)**

**Kanae: A-Aye...Ahem,Cana-san,since you here,can you do the disclaimer?**

**Cana: H-Hai! *HIC* Kanae over here,( smacks Kanae on the back ),does not own *HIC* Fairy Tail in any way! *HIC* Hiro Mashima sensei does! *BLURP*Hey,do you have more booze?**

**Kanae: ( sweat drops ) I'm underage,how the hell do you expect me to have any?**

**Cana: Oh~(sways dangerously) At's oo bad,wake meh up when yer done.( flops onto the ground and starts snoring )**

**Kanae: Hai...I guess that should be all from our uninvited guest then...Well...Shall we get going into Chapter 8 then? I present to you Chapter 8 : Journey!**

**( Updated : 08/06/13 )**

* * *

**Previously on GOTEG: Tenebre**

"Do you mean it?"

"Mou! Don't make fun of me!"

"Its you,Tenebre-san,you're going to be our newest member."

"YOU LEFT ME BEHIND!"

"It's time."

"Opps,i forgot to mention..."

"RUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN!"

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

**On the road from the Land of Isvan to Magnolia ( Normal POV )**

"Are we there yet?" Lucy whined for the uptenthed time,leaning onto a tree for support as she massaged her feet,

"My feet hurt~"She whined further,

Erza sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose,then,she looked at the sky and the surroundings,

"It's getting dark soon,i guess we should stop here for today." Erza thought to herself.

Erza stopped walking and stopped her cart,then she looked at her nakama and says,

"We'll set camp here,we'll move on when morning comes."

Hearing that,everyone sighed in relief and dumped their backpacks onto the dirt,Erza started digging through her carriage,and pulled out a few sleeping bags,and started barking out orders,

"Natsu and Happy,find enough firewood to last through the night and start a fire,then,go and find food for all of us in the forest,i'll help you after i'm after i'm done here. Gray,go find water. Lucy,Wendy and Charla,stay here and help me start camp,and finally,Serpe..." Erza looked at Serpe,and her face softened with worry,

"Lay Tenebre here and take care of her,we'll settle the rest."She said,

Serpe nodded,and went to retrieve Tenebre from Erza's carriage,

When this was done,Erza nodded,then,turning around,she barked,

"MOVE OUT!"

"YES MA'AM/AYE SIR!" They shouted and saluted to her,and went off to do their assigned tasks.

Gray immediately went into the forest to search for a water source. Natsu and Happy found some broken twigs and branches nearby,so they collected them quickly and Natsu used his fire to make a campfire,then,he disappeared into the forest in search of food and more firewood . Erza,Lucy,Wendy and Charla started to roll out the sleeping bags,Lucy made sure to put one closer to the campfire for Tenebre.

Laying Tenebre down on a sleeping bag Lucy just rolled out,Serpe smoothed out her dress and arranged her hair,then he sat down beside her as he watched her chest rise and fall as she slept.

Lucy walked over to him,squatted down,and took Tenebre's hand,and started to rub it,

"She's still so cold,and it's been 5 days already. Has she shown signs of waking up?" Lucy asked as she blew onto Tenebre's hand and continued to rub it, trying to transfer her warmth to her.

Serpe shook his head,and said,

"Well,she's warmer than when she first came out of that ice,but she's still below normal human temperature. I can't really tell the difference though,i'm cold blooded after all."

"Ah,right,you're half-snake. Natsu and the others told me about it."

They then fell into a comfortable silence,only the occasional crackling of firewood and the shuffling of feet could be heard,and after awhile,Lucy broke the silence,

"So...Tell me,how did you become Tenebre's spirit?"She said as she hugged her knees and cradled her head on it,while looking into Serpe's eyes,

Serpe chuckled at her question,much to Lucy's confusion,then he said as he started to caress Tenebre's cheek with his thumb,

"How i met this reckless idiot of a master here? Well,this is the story of how she saved me from myself..."

**Flashback ( Serpe's POV )**

"SERPE! You HAVE to stop this nonsense RIGHT NOW!"

"ARRRRRRGGGHHHH!"

Ignoring Anguis's shouts,i continued my rampage,destroying everything in sight,i slashed through something soft,it screamed as my hands impaled it's chest,i didn't know what it was,neither did i care. All i saw was red,my blood burned in my veins and rushed to my head,i turned to attack something else,but it was taken from me before i could kill it,i screamed in fury,

"GARRRRRGGGHHH!"

It was Gallus,that cock,he took my target,move on to next target,eliminate everything in sight,and i started to clear the forest of its trees,

"That's the last of them,most of the people have already been evacuated,Anguis,what are we going to do?" I saw Gallus comb back his wild red hair in frustration as i cut down another tree,

"I don't know,i guess we just have to wait for his magic to run out then. Adonis-sama have already passed on,so he's using his own magic to pass through his gate,just like we are doing now." Anguis said,and i whipped my head around and roared,

"SHE IS NOT DEAD! SHE"S JUST SLEEPING!" I charged at him,readying my claws to rip his throat out,but all he did was to sidestep,grabbed my hand,and slammed my onto the ground.

Anguis backed away from me as i pulled myself out of the rubble,i hissed at him,baring my fangs,and charged at him,but before i could even touch him,a golden magic circle appeared above me,and A horde of light spears rained out from it,immobilizing me. Soon,my entire body was surrounded by light spears,i couldn't even budge,i tried to break them,but as light as they looked,they were impossible to break. But despite knowing that,i kept on struggling.

"AAARRRGGHHH! LET ME GO! WHO DID THIS?!" I shouted out as i tried to pull my arm from the spears.

"I did."

I glared at the direction of the voice,and saw a feminine silhouette standing on top a tree branch,

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" I shouted furiously,

I heard her tsk at me,and i felt my blood boil,was she making fun of me?! She jumped off the branch,and landed gracefully onto the ground, and i saw her.

A black and silver haired beauty wearing a kind of blackish-silver and gold Valkyrie-like suit of armor with thigh-high armor boots,and over her left leg a long sash made of black and gold feathers,her black and gold flecked silver eyes stared straight into my soul. She walked towards a gaping Anguis and Gallus,and put her hands out in greeting,

"Tenebre Akarusa,Gatekeeper of the Worlds. You must be Anguis,the chinese zodiac of the dragon,and Gallus,chinese zodiac of the rooster,i presume?"

The both of them nodded their heads idiotically like a bunch of retarded bobble-heads,eesh,they always act like a bunch of idiots when beautiful woman are around,retards.

Anguis was the first to recover,clearing his throat and straightening out his cobalt blue chinese robe and white long pants,he activated his sparkling aura that would've made normal ( Key word : NORMAL ) girls swoon and smiled charmingly at Tenebre,taking her outstretched hand and turning it to place a kiss on it,he said,

"Yes,I am indeed Anguis,the chinese zodiac of the dragon,what can i do for you,my lady-" He was interrupted when she pulled back her hand and put a stop sign in front of his face,and she said,

"Leave your flirting to later,Anguis-san,i'm here on behalf of the old man."

Old man? The Celestial Spirit King! SHE knows him?! She took a side glance at me,and says,

"Have you calmed down yet,Serpe,the chinese zodiac of the snake?"

Calm down? Actually,now that i think about it,i'm no longer seeing red now,and my head feels sorta clear right now,are the spears behind this? I saw surprise on Anguis's and Gallus's face as they realized what just happened,

"Wha-?! How?! No one has been able to do that,not even Maiale,our laziest and most relaxed spirit!"' Gallus said as he pointed at Tenebre with a shaking hand,

I saw her scratch her head,and she just shrugged her shoulders,and says,

"Actually,i don't know how i did it. It's the first time i used this spell,i kinda picked it up after i got impaled by it,so i thought maybe i could use it to immobilize him,maybe i accidentally added calming properties in it just by thinking about it? I don't know."

My jaw dropped open,the way she said it,it was as if getting impaled was a normal thing for her,just what IS this girl?!

"Ahem,well,putting that aside,let's settle the problem on hand first. Serpe,go back to the Celestial Realm NOW. Your master is dead,and your contract is broken,you are no longer needed in this world,go back and await your new master."

Her words rang in my head,and echoed in my head over and over again,

_Dead..._

_Broken..._

_New master..._

_DEAD..._

And,i saw red again,

" SHE . IS . NOT . DEAD !"

Fueled by my rage,i tried to break away from my restrains,roaring as i put every ounce of strength i had into breaking them,and after doing so much,i only succeeded in breaking the few that were restraining my arms,but it was enough,she must be clearly underestimating me,i'm half-snake for fucks sakes,i can slither out of ANYTHING. Maneuvering my way out of the spears,i landed in a crouch outside the porcupine formation of spears i was in,and hissed at this lady,i will get her for insulting my master!

Digging my feet into the ground,i shot off,and aimed my claws at her throat,just as i was about to touch her neck,she disappeared,and was behind me in an instant,i pivoted on my foot,and swung my arm backwards to slice her,she leaped,and landed behind me again. Oh,so this is how she wants to play it? This will be interesting.

And our dance begun.

I attacked.

She dodged.

I attacked again.

She slips away from me,and ironically,like a snake.

Minutes passed,then,an hour,and i was panting,hard. Fighting her while still trying to keep myself here on Earthland with my own magic was tiring,but she insulted my master,and i will not forgive her till she's dead!

Hissing at her, i readied to launch myself at her again,but all she did was to yawn,and looked at me dully,my anger reached it's peak,first she mock my master and now me?! Unforgivable! I ran towards her,and the dance continued.

"Hey,you,Anguis-san? Isn't this your year? You have a significant increase in power and your the leader of the chinese zodiacs for this year right? So why didn't you try to stop him?" She asked Anguis,then ducking as i tried to spear her head.

"I tried,but if i were you,i would stay away from those claws of his,it has venom in it,and its cure can only be found in another world." Anguis said,his voice tense as he watched their dance of death,

"Hmm,poison eh? I don't think that's a problem." She said as she twirled away from my kick,and then leaping back as i tried to kick her with my other leg,she landed on her hands,then she pushed herself up,and landed on her feet,dusting her hands when she landed.

I tried to catch my breath as i felt the fatigue try to pull me back into the celestial spirit realm,but i resisted its pull,i have to kill this bitch first,as if sensing my thoughts,she gave a a sad look,

"Why?Why do you fight? You should be at your limit by now shouldn't you? Why don't you just go back to the Spirit World?" She asked,

"Why?! WHY?! I FIGHT TO PROTECT MY MASTER! IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?!" And with that,i put every last ounce of strength into my legs,and threw myself at her.

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Everything was in slow motion,i saw Anguis's and Gallus's horrified face,i saw my arm making its way into her stomach,i saw as she just stood there,doing nothing,not even dodging,just staring at me.

SQUELCH!

_drip..._

My eyes widened as i saw my arm embedded deeply into her stomach.

drip...

Her blood snaked it way down my arm,and dripped onto the puddle that was already forming beneath my arm.

_drip.._

I looked up,and saw that she was smiling at me,a small yet sad smile.

_DRIP..._

She coughed a few times,coughing out blood each time she did,then,she said,

"Hey,about time you took out your arm?"

Hearing this,i immediately pulled out my blood soaked arm from her stomach,i flinched as i heard it come out with a sickening squelch and as i saw more blood flowing out the wound the moment my arm was removed from it.

Anguis and Gallus was by her side in an instant,Anguis knelt down and immediately started to tear off pieces of his robe to stanch the wound so that the blood would stop flowing,pressing his hand to apply pressure on it, while Gallus tried to convince her to lie down so they could treat her wound better. But all she did was to say a quiet word of thanks to the both of them,and to refuse their offer.

Putting up a hand to silence their protests,she said,

"I'm fine,this would heal itself in a few hours time. There's no need for the both of you to panic."

Pushing away Anguis's hand gently,she replaced his hand with her own as she applied pressure to her own wound,with difficulty,she walked towards me and knelt on one knee in front of me,i felt as she cradled my face with her hand and lifted my face to look into hers,looking at her,i saw her smiling at me again,then,to my surprise,she hugged me,and started to pat me lightly on my head,

"You must have loved her dearly,your master i mean,for you to have lost control of your emotions and going berserk like that."

Her words made me realize something,and i felt my anger change into something else,

_sadness,_

_loneliness,_

_grief,_

"Adonis,was it? Her name i mean,it's a pretty name,although it might sound pretty,it actually has a sad meaning behind it. Did you know? The name Adonis in the language of the flowers actually means 'sad memories'? But i'm pretty sure she wants you to remember the opposite of that,she would want to remember the good memories of the both you you together,not the bad."

Memories of our times together flooded my head,of our missions together,our fun times together,her smiles,her laughs and her sparkling purple eyes as she looked at the town on top of the hill,her favorite spot in the whole city,the wind blowing at her flowing black hair.

_"Do you know why this hill is my favorite place? Cause i can see the whole of the town from here,even my house. It might not seem like much to many people as our town is still small and insignificant,but i don't care about their opinions,that's because i love this town! "_

_Love this town..._

_this town..._

She loved this town,and i destroyed it,with my own hands. What have i done?!

Something wet slid down my cheek,was i crying? No,i can't let them see my weak side,and i buried my face into Tenebre's shoulder,ignoring the cold metal biting into my right cheek,

"Don't be ashamed of your tears,a good friend of mine told me,tears are a form of weakness,but it is also a form of strength,it shows that you feel and that you have emotions,so don't hold it back."

With that,i let the tears flow out of my eyes as i wept silently as she continued to pat my head,

Even Anguis and Gallus shed a few tears at this exchange.

"And this is done,i better go tell the old man about it."

I looked at her as she released me from the hug and stood up,

Removing the cloth from her wound and letting the blood-soaked fabric fall onto the ground with a wet slosh. She removed the leather above her stomach and inspected her wound.

Her face was emotionless when she saw the discoloration around her wound,i took a closer look,and i cringed,wow,i always knew i had venom in my body and that i use it when i have my claws or fangs out,but i never knew it could look so...urm...well...ugly,i never really cared to look back at the enemies that i used it on.

Other than the gaping hole in her stomach,the skin around the wound was in a sickly shade of green,yellow and purple,and a horrible smell was emitting from it.

Anguis was gagging behind her.

Gallus was staring intently at the ground,having a new found interest in it.

Tenebre was poking the skin around her wound,intrigued by its color.

Me,on the other hand,was panicking,my mind was working on overdrive,i have to get her to the Celestial World and to the Jade Emperor's palace as soon as possible,then to Lapin,she would probably spend the next...

"SERPE!" Tenebre shouted in my face,

"Huh?" i said smartly,

"Jeez,i've been calling you for the past 4 times already,what were you thinking about?"

"Eh? What was i thinking about? Hmm,actually,what WAS i talking about?"

I thought for a moment,it came back to me,and i started panicking again,

"SHIT! We need to get you to the Celestial World,FAST! The poison will spread to your heart within the next 20 minutes or ..."

I stopped blabbering when i heard her chuckle,and i fumed,

"THIS IS NO TIME TO LAUGH! YOU CAN DIE FROM THIS AND ..."

She shoved a hand on my mouth to stop my blabber,and said while laughing,

"You don't listen to the news often do you? "

I shook my head,obviously confused at where she was heading at,

"No wonder,let me tell you something interesting then,number 1,i am a half-angel half-demon hybrid,which means,i'm immortal. Number 2, i've been trained to produced anti-venom within my body since i was young,so like my wounds,it'll be healed in the next hour or so. So stop panicking already!"

"Produce anti-venom in your body? How on Earthland is that possible?"

Her face morphed into a frightening scowl,her voice cold and deadly,she said,

"It's a long story,and not one that i would want to say to people i hardly know."

I took a quick look at Anguis and Gallus,and saw then hugging each other in fear,shivering and staring wide eyed at her sudden change in demeanor,then she looked at us,and smiled

"Let's go meet the old man,shall we?"

All of us sweatdropped,is this girl bipolar or something?

And we stepped into the gate she created,and went to meet the Celestial Spirit King.

**Flashback end,back at the campsite ( Normal POV )**

"The rest was a blur,the old man was about to banish me to Earthland for 5 years,but Tenebre saved me,she used one of the favors that the old man owed her to save me,and that is big,cause the old man's favors are extremely hard to get. So instead of being banished,i became Tenebre's spirit as punishment,which technically was not much of a punishment at all,i was starting to like her,she reminded me of Adonis,well,except for her reactions to pain and all things gruesome. But i have to thank her for everything though,if it wasn't for her and her spear thingy,i might have completely lost myself to my madness,and when i became her spirit,so did Anguis and Gallus,for some weird reason,they followed her because they liked her weirdness. " Serpe says with with a small smile on his face,but it soon morphed into a scowl as he said with gritted teeth and clenched fists,

"But jeez,i still can't believe her own relatives did those things to her! I mean just look at her! What part of her deserves such ill treatment,huh?! If i could just get my hands on them...!" Lucy sweatdropped as she saw the creepy smile on his face as he thought of what he COULD do IF he got his hands on Tenebre's relatives.

Just at that moment,Natsu came back with Happy and Erza,while he was carrying a mountain of firewood with both of his arms, Happy was carrying a smaller version of that pile with his paws. Erza emerged from the forest nest,dragging five wild boars tied up with ropes behind her,all unconscious with X's on their eyes.

"Whoa,how did you catch so many at once?" Lucy exclaimed,poking at one of the boar's leg,

"I didn't,Erza did,she just jumped out of the bushes,ready for the kill,and all of them fainted at the sight of her. Well,that means more food for me!" Natsu grinned at this,

"A-Aye..." Lucy could just imagine the look on Erza's face when she jumped out of the bushes,and shivered at the thought,

"Erza-san,is it ok for me to do the cooking for all of you today? As a 'thank you meal' for helping my master." Serpe offered as he looked at the gang,

"Hmm,i guess if that is what you wish to do,go on then." Erza said,

"Yosh,time to get to work then!" Serpe said as he took off his coat,revealing a pastel green form-fitting shirt,sculpting his finely built abs perfectly,making Erza raise her eyebrows in appreciation,causing Lucy to blush when he flexed his abs,and making Natsu growl at Serpe when he saw Lucy blush,Gray was grinning at Natsu's growl,Happy was rolling his tongue gleefully at Gray's knowing grin,and Wendy was confused at why Lucy was blushing,why Natsu was growling and why Gray was grinning.

" I guess i can ask Maiale to help me out for awhile." Serpe then closes his eyes for a moment,and a pink poof poofed out beside him.

When the smoke cleared out, a small girl the size of Wendy but just a tad taller appeared beside him. She had mousey brown and pink bob hair with bangs,she was wearing a pair of over-sized baby pink overalls with a light blue shirt with a pair of pink slippers.

They couldn't really see what was her eye color,cause she was sleeping,yes,you heard right people,sleeping,while standing upright.

"Ano...Is this normal,Serpe?" Lucy said as she looked at Serpe with a perplexed expression while pointing at a snoring Maiale who was leaning dangerously close to the campfire,

"Yep,this is very normal. Meet Maiale,she might be the laziest and most relaxed spirit out all of us,but she is also the best cook among the lot,i called her here to help me out,she might be the best cook,but i'm not so bad myself!" Serpe puffed up with pride at this,

"Wait,YOU summoned her her?! A spirit summoning a spirit? I've never heard of this before! How is this possible?!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes shining at the aspect of learning new things about the spirits,

"Zzzzzzz..." Maiale snored,about to fall into the fire when Serpe grabbed her by her straps,

"I guess i should explain,but after dinner,there's a hungry fire Dragonslayer glaring holes into my back right now and ready to shoot me with his fire which i would really want to avoid." Serpe said as he pointed at a fuming Natsu behind him,

"Oh,ok then,but i want an explanation after dinner!" Lucy said,her black aura seeping out of her body,

"H-Hai!" Serpe squeaked out,then he looked at Maiale,sighed,and started poking her,

"WAKE UP YOU LAZY PIGLET!" Serpe shouted into her ears while poking her sides,

Maiale woke up with a start,and started laughing uncontrollably,

"Hihihihihihahahahaha! Stop it! Stop it Serpe-nii!" Maiale laughed out,while being assaulted with Serpe's pokes,he then stops poking her,and said,

"Jeez,you should really stop sleeping so much you know." Serpe ruffled Maiale's hair as she yawned,then while rubbing her eyes cutely,she whimpered,

"But i'm just so sleepy all the time!"

Sighing,Serpe facepalmed himself,then he said,

"Once you're done here,you can go back to sleep,but now i need your help for dinner,can you help me,Maiale?"

Maiale's face lit up at the word 'dinner',her mud-brown eyes sparkled,and she nodded enthusiastically,showing energy for the first time the gang saw her, she then takes out a ladle from behind her,and said,

"Travelling kitchen!"

A bright pink cloud appeared in front of her,and it revealed a small kitchen with cabinets of all sorts of food and spices,she then turns around and chirped,

"Where's the main ingredient?"

Baffled,Team Natsu plus Wendy and Charla pointed at the bunch of tied up boars near the campfire,Maiale looked at them and her eyes widened,

"The main ingredients are my cousins?" She said,

"Cousins?" The gang echoed,clearly confused,

"Ah,i forgot to mention,Maiale is the chinese zodiac of the pig,so technically boars are her cousins." Serpe added in happily,

"WE'RE SO SORRY!" The whole gang bowed to Maiale,but all Maiale did was to walk past them and to stop in front of the captured boars,she then smiles creepily and took out a butchers knife from behind her,and says with a voice as creepy as her smile,

"I don't mind,they were stupid enough to be captured,so it's their problem. My job,however,is to make them delicious,and that i will do..." She lifted up her knife,and brought it down,

Erza covered Wendy's eyes and Lucy covered her ears for she was too young to witness such scenes,while everyone else just sweatdropped,who knew such a gentle looking sleepyhead had such a sadistic side to her.

A few minutes later,all five boars were butchered and cut in many different cuts,and after changing into a new pair of matching overalls and cleaning up the blood that splattered onto her face and hands,Maiale took out a few bottles of spices and other ingredients,and said,

"Our main ingredient is prepared,shall we start then,Serpe-nii?"

Serpe nodded,then they grinned at each other,and they started cooking,

**Time Skip ( Normal POV )**

"Yaaa! That was good,thanks for the food,whatever your name is!" Natsu flopped onto the ground while petting his bloated belly,

"Zzzz..." Maiale snored out,a satisfied smile on her face as she curled up beside her ladle on the ground,

Serpe chuckled and ruffled her hair,

"Well done Maiale,you can go back now."He said,

And she disappeared in a shower of golden dust.

Looking around,he realized something,

"Say,where did the girls go to?"

"They went to the lake for a bath right after dinner was over,you probably didn't know since you were busy cleaning up." Gray said nonchalantly,lying on his back,half naked once again,looking up at the night sky,

"Right..." Serpe said,then he slumped onto the ground beside Tenebre's sleeping bag,where she was just a few moments ago,

"They probably took her along to wash her up..." However,his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a shout,

"SERPE!"

All the guys shot upright,it was Lucy's voice! They all ran in the direction of the lake,and when they emerged from the forest,they found a towel-clad Lucy and Erza kneeling beside a similarly dressed Tenebre,who was sitting up and looking pale,very pale,then,Wendy ran out of the bushes,fully dressed,and was about to start healing her when she lifted up a hand and said in a croaky voice,

"Leave it for later."

Serpe's eyes widened,and he too ran over to the girls,

"How is she?" He asked,looking at Wendy with a serious face,

" 'She' is alive and well thank you very much." Tenebre said while smiling weakly,with a touch of humor behind her voice, then she frowned and said,

"But I don't feel so good though... It feels like i drank 3 days worth of alcohol in one shot,got thrown into a giant roulette,was swung around like a chew toy by Cerberus and had my insides frozen like a pack of frozen peas." She said,making the other's sweatdrop at her overactive imagination.

"Let's get to camp first,we need to get Tenebre warmed up,and being wet and not having decent clothes is not going to help her with that." Erza ordered,and at the mention of 'clothes' , Lucy remembered something,and screamed,

"KYAAAAAAA!"

Natsu,Gray and Serpe got into their combat positions,ready to fight whatever danger was there,when they assaulted with a barrage of stones,

"GET OUT OF HERE YOU PERVERTS!" She shrieked,grabbing whatever she could get her hands on to throw at the males.

The boys,however,were confused,perverts? Then,they figured it out,

Lake = girls bathing = taking off clothes = naked = unwanted visitors = perverts.

All of their faces flamed,for Natsu,literally,and they ran back to camp,all while trying to prevent a enormous nosebleed.

Minutes later,the girls came back to the camp site,Erza,with her normal armor on,who was carrying Tenebre,who was wearing a celestial yukata that Virgo brought for her, helped her onto the sleeping bag laid out for her. Then,a red-faced Lucy emerged from the forest,with Wendy following closely behind her,and Charla drifting beside her,

Serpe immediately glomped Tenebre to the ground,hugging her for dear life,

"You're finally awake!" He kept repeating,all while digging his head into her stomach,chuckling,she patted his head,and said,

"Yes,i know,you baka reptile,now,do me a favor and stop trying to dig a hole into my stomach?" She said teasingly,the hand that was patting his head a moment ago turning into a fist as she lightly rapped him on his head with her knuckles.

Serpe let go of her waist,and looked at her with happy puppy dog eyes,reminding Lucy of an adorable puppy wagging its tail and standing at attention,giggling at the thought,

"But why were you unconscious for so long? You told me at it would only take 2 days or so." Serpe asked,

"Hmm,well,i did take two days to fully recover my magic and to complete my seals,but i didn't really think about the amount of paperwork i would accumulate over the time i was frozen,Marie was really mad at me when i returned to the Void in my semi-solid state,she demanded that i at least finish half of it,so it took me another 2 days to finish,and here i am now." Tenebre explained,smiling sheepishly when she saw Serpe glaring at her,

"Well,now that i'm awake,i guess i've wasted enough time,Wendy-chan,do you mind helping me with something?" Wendy was startled at the sudden mention of her name,then she smiled timidly and nodded,

"Hai! What do you need help with,Tenebre-san?"

"First,i need all of you to pack up first,this would only take a minute,so hurry up and move it,boys,as punishment for peeping." Tenebre barked out,and Natsu,Gray and Serpe stand at attention,and to scurry off to pack up,

"Wendy-chan,while they're doing that,i need you to heal my head,i think i got a concussion when Marie whacked my head with a dictionary,even if i was semi-solid,it still hurts." Tenebre said,

Hearing that she could help with something, Wendy's face brightened up,

"I'll try my best,Tenebre-san!"

Kneeling down so Wendy reach her head,Wendy lifted her hands to Tenebre's head,and a soft greenish-blue glow emitted from it, enveloping Tenebre in a soothing warmth from her magic,and within minutes,her head was healed and she got her natural complexion back,at the same time,the boys just finished strapping the last of the supplies onto Erza's carriage and extinguished the campfire by making Natsu eat the fire,which he did so happily.

Satisfied,Tenebre walked towards the carriage,and says,

"Now,i want everyone to hold on to the carriage." Everyone did as they were told,though confused at what she was doing,

"Serpe,you should go back to the Celestial Spirit World for now,say hi for me. You've done well ." And while saying this,Tenebre patted him on his head,Serpe nodded happily,and disappeared in a shower of gold dust after he bowed to the gang.

Tenebre then looked at Natsu,Lucy,Gray,Erza,Wendy and finally Happy and Charla,and closes her eyes,

"I believe i wasted too much of your time,and to make up for it,i'm going to make things easier for all of you now,just a word of caution do not,and i mean DO NOT let go of the carriage at any point of time,i don't want to have to search through the whole of the Void just to search for you." She says,making them eye her warily,and Erza asks,

"Tenebre,just what exactly are you doing now?"

The air around Tenebre started to vibrate,ang a humming sound was heard,and she peeped open one eye,a mischievous glint in it,and says,

"Teleportation! Location : FAIRY TAIL!"

A huge sky blue magic circle appeared below their feet,and they were sucked through it,almost like how Anima sucked them into Edolas,and they held onto the carriage for dear life as they fell though a vortex of colors.

**Meanwhile,back at the guild at night ( Normal POV )**

"Master,are you sure you don't want to send another team to search for Natsu and the others? It's been almost 5 days and not even one lacrima message!" Mira said panicked,her usual cheerful face clouded with worry,

Master Makarov just took another long gulp from his mug,slammed it down,and slurred,

"They'll be fine! No problemo! "

"But Master~" Mira whined,but then,in a split second,her face turned serious,and looked around the guild,as if sensing something,

Makarov took another gulp,threw his mug behind,and said,

"You feel it too right,Mira? "

Mira nodded,

"Well! She always had a knack for entrances,but i think this would be her biggest one yet." Makarov said,then breaking into a grin,

Confused,Mira tilted her head to the side,

"Who's 'She'?" She asked,

"You'll know soon enough,but i have a feeling you'll like her,she might be able to give you a hand in your 'business',Mira." Master said,wagging his eyebrows knowingly at Mira,and Mira smiled a knowing smile,

"Ara ara~ My 'business' eh? I shall see."

Then,a huge magical circle appeared in the middle of the guild,and it disappeared after spitting out a big, unidentified lump of something.

The members that were still in the guild at that time approached the lump cautiously,and when they got closer,shouts could be heard,

"OI,GRAY! GET YOUR STINKY ASS OUT OF MY FACE!"

"MY STINKY ASS?! WHY NOT YOU GET YOU UGLY FACE OFF MY ASS?!"

"BOTH OF YOU STOP FIGHTING AND GET OFF ME!"

"AYE LUCY-SAMA!"

"Gray-san,you're clothes..."

"WHA-! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

"HOW DARE YOU TAINT MY PURE WENDY'S EYES!"

"Whoo! Go Charla!"

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!"

It was Team Natsu plus Wendy and Charla! The guild members sighed in relief,then one of them shouted,

"THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION!"

A deafening roar almost made the guild's windmill fall off,and Fairy Tail was its usual rowdy self once again.

Pounding Tenebre on her back,Erza said,

"It's time to introduce you to them,you ready?"

Tenebre grinned,and pounded Erza on her back as well,

"As i'll ever be!"

Erza grinned back,then taking a deep breath,she roared,

"EVERYONE OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW!"

Silence enveloped the guild as everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at Erza,not even daring to even whisper a word so as to suffer her wrath.

"We have a new member!"

Tenebre strutted forward confidently,and said,

"My name is Tenebre Akarusa,user of mainly Angel and Demon magic,and the older sister of Lucy Heartphillia!"

.

.

.

" HEHHHHHHHH?!" The whole guild,with the exception of Master,Team Natsu and co and Tenebre screamed out,falling anime style onto the ground.

The only thing Tenebre did,was to smile cheekily at the members on the floor,and said,

"Heh!"

**? ? ? ( Normal POV )**

Two figures were watching as the scene at Fairy Tail unfold itself before them within a lacrima globe,then a crack appeared,and the globe shattered into lacrima dust,leaving a small dust pile on the table.

"Looks like the hidden lacrima camera we hid in the cave was telling the truth,what shall we do now,mi'lord?" one of the figures said,

_"Send your minions to give her a little 'Welcome Back' present." _A voice boomed,echoing across the room.

"Yes,mi'lord." The figured bowed,and faded into the ground,

Cupping his right hand,he caught the last few grains of of lacrima dust from streaming off the table,the man looked at it with hungry eyes,then clenching it within his fist,he growled,

_"So,she has returned,hmm...HAHAHAHAHA! It's a good thing i didn't kill her then,now,with years,DECADES of research,i might be able to make her cater to my needs.. YOU'RE MINE..."_

* * *

**How was Serpe able to summon a spirit? What is the Void? Who is Marie? And who is this man? Stay tuned to find out in Chapter 9 : Answers !**

Preview of Chapter 9:

" I do suppose i have a lot of explaining to do..."

" The Void is ..."

" I challenge you to a fight...!"

" And the winner is..."

" It's been a long time since we've last met..."

"...Mavis..."

* * *

**So that a wrap! And that concludes Chapter 8! How was it! Please review to let me know what are your thoughts! Constructive criticism are allowed! ^.^**

**Now, some good news and bad news.**

**Bad news is,i won't be able to update next week,I'M SO SORRY EVERYONE, but i have to attend a camp,so i won't be able to use my phone,yes,i type all my chapters on a phone. . **

**Good news is,i'll make Chapter 9 especially long,and maybe things would be clearer in this chapter,there would be a lot of explaining but i'll make sure it would not be boring,and maybe,just MAYBE,i might plan to write my first one-shot,so,requests anyone? XD**

**I do apologise to all for the slow update rate and the slow romance rate,but do understand that there is still much for me to learn! So if any of you have tips or places in which you think i can improve in,please feel free to tell me through a review or PM!**

**And lastly,i would like to thank ALL for reading and supporting this story,A HUGE GINORMOUS THANK YOU! And i hope you all would continue to support this story! **

**R&R!**

**Ja Ne! **

**~KanaeHitomi~ **


	9. Chapter 9 - Answers

**Kanae: Heya all! It's been too long! I shall keep this short since i've delayed this chapter by a week already,so i present to you Chapter 9 : Answers!**

**( Updated 09/06/13 )**

* * *

**Previously in GOTEG : Tenebre**

"She's still so cold.."

"The main ingredients are my cousins?"

"...I don't feel so good..."

"I'll try my best!"

" HEHHHHHHHH?!"

_"She has returned..."_

_"YOU'RE MINE..."_

* * *

Chapter 9 : Answers

* * *

**Fairy Tail at night ( Normal POV )**

"Heh!" Tenebre said, the cheeky smile on her face mirroring those that were on Natsu,Lucy,Gray,Erza and Wendy's faces.

" Angel and Demon magic?! I've never heard of such magic!" Romeo exclaimed,

" And Lucy's older sister?! " Bisca said,eyes wide

" Lucy! You didn't mention anything about a black haired beauty as your sister!" Macao said,mouth gaping at Tenebre,

Lucy giggled,and said,

"Well,i just found out not long ago myself,so i'm still getting used to it,and she's not my real biological sister,my mom kinda adopted her."

"Aaaahhhh!" The whole guild said,then,Natsu shouted out,

"This calls for a celebration! LET'S PARTEH!"

The whole guild roared in response,and the party started,Fairy Tail style,barrels were emptied,fights broke out,things flew and people flew,sitting down on one of the bar stools,Tenebre rested her head on her hand and closed her eyes,absorbing the feel of the whole of Fairy Tail,and dodging a few flying missiles every now and then,

"Here you go!" Mira chirped,passing a mug to a member,

"Thanks Mira!" He said,then chugging it down in a gulp,he slammed the mug onto the table,and went to join the rest into the fray.

Smiling,she retrieved his mug, then walking back to the bar counter,she saw Tenebre with her eyes closed,and she remembered Master's words,

"Lissana,take over my position for awhile." Mirajane passed her tray to Lissana,and approached her future 'partner in crime',

Sensing a person's presence approaching,Tenebre turned to find herself face to face with the famous white-haired demon of Fairy Tail,and seeing the knowing glint within her deep-blue eyes,Tenebre grinned,knowing that they'll get along just fine,

Stretching out a hand,Mira smiled and said,

"Nice to meet you Tenebre-san, I'm-"

"You're Mirajane Strauss,the famous Demon of Fairy Tail, I've heard and seen a lot about you,and it's just Tenebre, no need for the honorifics,it's a pleasure to meet you, Mira-san." Tenebre interrupted Mira,and shaking her hand in greeting,

"Oh, you flatter me too much! But what do you mean by 'seen' ? Hearing alot about me is normal but seeing? " Mira asked,tilting her head in confusion,Tenebre chuckled,and patted her shoulder,

"It's a long story,now,i believe you have something to say to me? " Tenebre said,a small smirk on her lips,

"Oh! I've heard from the Master that you've a very VERY interesting hobby,which so happens to involve a bunch of dense idiots." Mira tapped her chin thoughtfully,Tenebre shook her head,and sighed in exasperation,and said while waving her hands dramatically,

"The level of their denseness is just so frustrating! And to watch is even more so! "

Their eyes met,they clasped their hands together,Mira grinned at her,and Tenebre grinned back,

"They need a little help don't you think,Tenebre?" Mira had a evil smile on her face,a similar aura flaring up behind her,

"Yes,indeed,and i think that we're perfect for the job,do you,Mira-san?" Tenebre's lips crept up into a smirk,her eyes glinting dangerously,

"This is going to be fun..." They growled in sync,and both started to crackle in a low,evil laugh.

A chill went down every guild member's spine,as if sensing impending doom, and those sitting close to where Tenebre and Mira was crept away from the both of them slowly as they heard the both of them mutter words that was not in a human language when in fact,they were just planning out things for their first 'victims'.

After awhile,Mira said,

"Well,that was a fun talk! But i have to go back to my duties,looks like the party is at its peak now, it's going to be a busy night! But i suggest that you drop by the Master's office later,normally i would be the one to put the guild mark on the newcomers but as you can see,my hands are full,so Master will help you with it, so i'll see you later Tenebre! " Mira winked at Tenebre, and went behind the counter to continue pouring out the drinks.

"Makarov eh? I wonder how long has it been..."Tenebre whispered to herself,she walked up to Master's office,stood there for a moment,and kicked the door open,

Master,who just so happen to be chugging down a mug of booze,spat it all out in shock,

"PPFFFFFTTTTT! Who wha-?! " He looked at Tenebre who was grinning at him sheepishly,and he growled,

"What is it with you and entrances?! Do you always have to make it big?! What are you going to do next? A huge flash of light with you in the middle of it?! "

Tenebre closed the door behind her,whispered a few words,and the door glowed a soft green,then she turned to look at Master Makarov,and grinned,

"I've done that already, is your old age affecting your memories ,Makarov? "

Mumbling a few intelligible words, Master glared at her, Tenebre strained her ears to catch them,

"What did you say?"

"I said, don't talk about age,you're the one who lived for almost twenty thousand years..." Makarov grumbled out a little louder, Tenebre's eyes widened at this,and she broke down into a fit of laughter,

"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHA! OH. MY. WORLDS! After almost 20 years or so,you're still THAT sensitive about your age?! And your actually remembered how old i was?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Looks like your memory isn't that bad old man!" Tenebre pounded him on his back,not knowing that she was beating the air outta Makarov, whose eyes were bulging out with each impact,

"OI OI OI! Forgotten that you're stronger than a normal human! Ya trying to kill me?!" He choked out, coughing a bit when she stopped pounding the life outta him,

"Oh my,i'm so sorry,i guess the seals are not completed yet." Tenebre scratched the back of her head and grinned at Makarov sheepishly.

His eyebrows lifting in surprise,Makarov said,

"So that's why you look so different,you've sealed up your magic as well as your abilities,i could've sworn that your eyes were fully gold and your hair was black the last time i saw you."

Tenebre smiled,and said,

"Well,that's because i used too much of my father's magic that day,so you probably saw the demonic part of me then,well,the MORE demonic part of me,this is how i really look like."

"Ah! THAT day,Mavis,i swear,i have no idea how many heart attacks you've given Layla over the time you've known her,and although i've only known you from 3 days she was here and from what she tells me about you,why on Earthland do you always have to be in bad shape when you appear in front of her?!"

**Flashback,20 years ago ( Normal POV )**

"Ah,Layla! It's nice to see you again,how long has it been my friend?" Makarov took another swig at his booze,and put his mug aside,

"Drinking in the afternoon Makarov? That's not good for your health for someone your age you know?" Layla said,a teasing smile on her face as she took a seat in front of him,

"Says the person who's always getting miniature heart attacks from her adopted daughter." Makarov grumbled,and dumped some of his paperwork onto the floor beside his table, Layla eyed his actions,grinned and said,

"More paperwork Makarov? And it seems like it increased in size rather than decreasing! My my,it seems like you and your guild have been busy! Even busier than my husband i think." Layla tapped her chin,as if in thought,

"He's still the same isn't he?" Makarov said,looking at Layla as she smiled a sad smile,

"Well...Business IS booming,it's natural for him to be occupied in his work..." She said,but then Makarov cut her off,

"TOO occupied in his work you mean. And according to what you told me a few days ago,he's spending more time in his office rather than spending time with you,i doubt he even realizes that you're here and not at the mansion..." his voice faded off,and he narrowed his eyes,

"Something's coming..."

A bright light filled the room,and a gate appeared in the corner of the room,and Tenebre walked out of it,lifting a bloodied eyebrow,she said,

"It's SOMEONE not SOMETHING,what do you thing i am, an unidentified flying object,Makarov? Jeez,and i thought that you could alteady recognize my magic" Tenebre gave Makarov a pointed look,sending a chill down his spine,then she looked at Layla,and grinned,

"Heya Layla-" This time it was Layla's turn to give Tenebre a pointed look,Tenebre then mumbled,

"-Mom..."

Layla smiled,and patted Tenebre on her head,

SPLAT!

And that was when they finally realized that Tenebre was dripping blood all over the floor,

Layla was glaring at Tenebre while wiping away the blood on her hand on her dress,Tenebre was grinning sheepishly at herself while adjusting the straps on her metal gauntlet,while Makarov was gaping at the amount of blood that was pooling at her feet and on his office floor,surprised that she was still standing,

Makarov just shook his head and sighed when Layla stood up,whip out a huge first aid box from out of no where, grabbed Tenebre by her breastplate and dumped her onto the seat she just abandoned, and started nagging at her while bandaging her head,

"YOU! WHAT did you do this time? Fight an army of faeries? Took a bath in a pit of lava in Gehenna? Or did you happen to wake up a dragon while it's sleeping? HUH?! Which one is it?" Layla gave the bandage an especially hard tug,and glared into Tenebre's head,as if she could dig out the answers from her head with her eyes.

Tenere just fidgets with her hair,and mumbles,

"Well...None of the above. I didn't pay attention to where i was flying,so i flew straight into one of the columns of the palace in Arcadia,and you know my history with them,so they started chasing and attacking me for 'soiling' their precious purity,and they managed to land a few hits on me before i remembered that i could create a gate to escape,so...ya,that's what happened."

Layla smacked Tenebre on her head,and scolded her,

"HOW ON EARTHLAND DID YOU FORGET THAT YOU COULD CREATE GATES OF YOUR OWN?! AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN ARCADIA IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"

"Hey,i had official business there,i was even forced to use my father's magic against them,but no matter how much i dislike going to Arcadia and Gehenna,my history with them is second to my job as Gatekeeper. And you know what happens when i go there,although it has been a long time,i still have a trauma of THEM and of Arcadia and Gehenna,so it does things to my head,and just talking and thinking about THEM gives me the chills." Tenebre said, her face shadowed as she rubbed her arm where her scars were, hidden from sight behind cold-hard metal.

Then, lifting up her head,she smiled, a small yet strong smile,but Makarov saw through her mask, deep down in her metallic gold eyes, she hides her fear,as well all her hate and resentment,she says

"Let's put this aside and get back to the main topic shall we?"

She crossed her arms, pouted childishly, and looked at Layla,

"Mom,i have to agree with Makarov,Jude IS spending TOO much time in his office! You should beat some sense into him,like what you always to me! It's unfair you know! You bully me but not him!"

That sentence made both Makarov and Layla smile,and soon,laughter filled the room,the matter of Tenebre's past erased from their heads.

**Flashback end, Makarov's office ( Normal POV )**

Tenebre grinned,and flopped onto one of the seats,

"Well...things just happen! I guess it come in a package, awesome Gatekeeper powers with the price of getting beaten up every time something crops up! And i chose to accept this job when it was offered to me,so i guess i saw this coming." She lifted her legs and placed them on his table,crossing them as she leaned back onto her chair.

"And i can never get used to the fact that you treat injuries like a normal occurrence and pain to you is nothing but ants crawling up your arm." Makarov slumped back onto his chair,and shook his head,

"Well,putting that aside,regarding your seals,how many layers did you have you created?" He said,taking another chug from his mug, then continuing,

"And i believe that you should have no problem telling me that,and since you've already put up a sound barrier around my office,i shall assume that you have things that you wish to discuss with me,am i wrong to say that?"

Tenebre let her feet fall back onto the ground,and says with a smile still on her face,

"Well! Looks like your senses are still sharp despite your age! But you're not wrong,in fact,you're spot on. "

"I have a total of 10 seals,5 for my powers as and Angel and the other 5 for the Demon,all 10 for my physical and magical traits,and it's somewhere around 87% complete right now,and you should know full well why i have these seals."

Makarov nodded,and says,

" So you won't wack the air outta everyone you see,that's one,so that you would not accidentally kill people when you use your power,that's two...And finally..."

Both their faces turned grim when he said the next few words,

"So that THEY wouldn't find you that easily."

Tenebre nodded,standing up,she walked towards the window,and said,

"Yes,but you're missing out something,and that is the reason why i'm here now."

She turned around,the light from outside the window shadowing her features,her silver eyes glowing from her shadowed face,

"These seals would make it hard for THEM to find me,but on the other hand,the seals on Lucy are cracking."

Makarov was startled out of his seat,landing on the warm,wooden planked floor,he stuttered,

"W-W-What?! But-!"

"But i know! Layla used her last breath to make that seal,but obviously the Oculos Divae's power has grown over the years,and Layla's seal can no longer hold it back."Tenebre gritted her teeth,clenching her fists till her knuckles turned white,blood seeping through her fingers,dripping onto the floor,

Makarov stood up,and shouted,

"Then there's no time to lose,we have to reinforce the seal immediately! If not Lucy might-""

"Now's not the time to lose your cool Makarov! Have you forgotten what's the price for invoking a seal of such magnitude? Why do you think Layla only did before she died?" Tenebre retorted,with just as much ferocity,she the took a deep breath,and said with more restrain,

"I might be able to pull it off,i'm immortal afterall, but i don't know the exact procedure,and it's an especially delicate procedure,so this is why i came here for,and this is where you come in."

"I need your help,and maybe your guild's too. I need you to find out it's exact procedure,and it's pros and cons,and maybe alternative seals that might do the same job..." Tenebre ranted on,while Makarov made mental notes to himself as she ranted,

"...So,that's about it,can you help me with those Makarov?"

Makarov nodded,a picture of a blue-haired girl with a yellow bandanna flashed in his head,and he grinned,showing a thumbs up,

"I think i have the person for the job."

"Levy Mcgarden am i right? " Tenebre said,her eyes glinting mischievously from within the shadows,Makarov saw that glint,and exclaimed,

"So you WERE watching us all this while! I could've sworn i sensed your presence every now and then,but it was gone before i realized it,so i just thought it was my imagination,so it WAS you ,well, you can be more powerful than me when you really want to,so it's no surprise that i couldn't sense you." He pointed at her accusingly,and snapped his fingers,the light's turned on,and he saw her smiling cheekily,

"Hehe! You caught me!" She winked,and slumped back onto the chair,in a very unladylike manner,Makarov tsked at her,and sat back on his chair,

"Tsk, how unladylike of you,what would Layla say?"

Tenebre shrugged her shoulders in indifference,and smirked,

"She'll probably say 'Ladylike? What's that?' !"

They laughed,a lone tear making it's way down Tenebre's cheek as she laughed,she wiped it away,then she says,

"Well! Since that's done,it's about time you gave me my mark,isn't it?"

"Oh yeah,i forgot all about it!" He pulled out a stamp from beneath his table, " So,where do you want it?"

She pulled back the ends of her yukata,revealing her upper thigh,

"Oi,stop staring,you perverted old man." Tenebre smacked Makarov when he made a perverted face, and pointed at her thigh, " I want it here,in black,the darkest shade you have."

He pressed the stamp at the spot indicated,and with a *POP*, a black Fairy Tail mark appeared on her thigh,so black that it looked like you could drown into it with just one look.

Letting the fabric fall back to its original position,Tenebre was about to undo the sound barrier when Makarov said,

"Wait,there's something else," Makarov pulled Tenebre back, " I believe you met a few of my children,two of which are Dragon Slayers,i have another one in my guild hall,so i have three Dragon Slayer in total in my guild."

"When you sealed yourself up,you closed all the gates,sending all back to their respective realms,with the exception of the Celestial Realm,but now that you've been released,are you going to reopen the gates?" Makarov asked,

Tenebre seemed to ponder over this question,she looked at Makarov,and shook her head regretfully,

"I'm not sure about letting them all out of their realms,it's been a decade since they've been locked up,i'm already mentally preparing myself for an extremely long lecture from Marie for doing things without consulting her,and i'm pretty sure she'll be holding a meeting straight after i return to the Void,and whether or not your children would be meeting their parents,would depend on this meeting,and i'm actually expecting them to be angry, Mephisto certainly will,i'm not so sure about Seraphim,The Dragon Council,Oberon and Titania though. And i believe this would be the first time the new king of Edolas would be attending this meeting,you know him don't you,this Mystogan guy." Tenebre said,

"But,more importantly,i don't think your children would be seeing their dragon parent's anytime soon." Tenebre bowed to Makarov, " I'm sorry."

Makarov seem to deflate at this piece of news,

"Well,say hi to Marie for me when you meet her." He said,

Tenebre nodded,undid the sound barrier,and walked out into the rowdy guild hall.

Closing the door behind her,silence enveloped Makarov's office,taking one last gulp at his mug,he slammed it onto the table,

"Looks like Fairy Tail would be getting busy again..."

**Meanwhile,Back at the guild hall ( Normal POV )**

"Oi Tenebre! Where ye been?" Natsu shouted out from across the the hall,while his face was being pressed onto the ground by Erza's feet,who was also grabbing Elfman by his collar,

"Nowhere,just talking with the old man,and getting my Fairy Tail mark." She lifted her yukata,showing off her new tattoo then letting the fabric fall back to its original position.

"That's good for you! Welcome to Fairy Tail,Tenebre!" Lisanna came up behind her,and smiled ,"Welcome to the family! My name is Lisanna by the way,Mira-nee's little sister!"

"And i'm Levy! Lu-chan's best friend!" Levy popped out from behind Lisanna grinning,

"Nice to meet the both of you,Levy-san and Lisanna-san." Tenebre said formally,earning a few giggles from them,much to her confusion,

"No need for the hornorifics here Tenebre,we're all family here,all nakama! " Lucy said,popping up in front of Tenebre's face,

Tenebre smiled,and was about to pull the three girls in front of her into a bone crushing hug,when an unidentified blob of black flew past,smashed into the wall,and growled.

Wait,objects do not growl do they?

" Oi! Salamander! You're gonna get it from me!" Gajeel growled,and shot off using the wall to propell himself,his iron fist colliding with Gray's face with a resounding smack.

SMACK!

" Opps,you missed!" Natsu held Gray in front of him,smirking,

"Why you-!" Gray seethed,and kicked Natsu in his gut,and dragging a bunch of other guild members back into their fight.

Dodging a bunch of stools,broken table legs,broken tables,broken bones,mugs and etc,the girls made their way to the bar counter,

"Soooo,Levy,you have a THING for that guy that flew past us just now don't cha?" Tenebre teased,making Levy turn into a shade of red that would've made a tomato proud,

"W-Wha?! I DO NOT!" She shrieked out incredulously,

"Oh,just admit it Levy-chan!" Lucy said,wiggling her eyebrows,

" Not you too Lu-chan!" Levy moaned,hiding her face with her hands,

Lucy winked,and says,

" Teehee,what are friends for!"

Hungry for revenge,Levy retorted,

" So what about your THING for Natsu?"

This time,it was Lucy's turn to blush,

" Yea! The both of you look so good together!" Lisanna teased,giggling when Lucy spluttered,

"We do NOT!"

"Yes you DO! Everyone here agrees don't cha?" Tenebre said,and winking at Mirajane,giving her a well hidden thumbs up sign,

"YEA!" All the girls shouted in unison,

"Mou~ Stop making fun of me!" Lucy groaned,in the same position Levy was just minutes ago,

"So Tenebre,do you have a place to stay tonight?" Bisca asked, quickly changing the topic before Lucy gets embarrassed further ,while playing with Asuka's hair,

"Actually,now that i think about it,i don't." Tenebre said,blinking a few times,then shrugging her shoulder," Oh well,i guess i could camp out in the trees for tonight then."

"Why not you sleep at my dorm at Fairy Hills for tonight?" Erza offered,appearing from out of nowhere behing Tenebre," I have plenty of room to spare."

"Oh no Erza! I wouldn't like to impose on you!" Tenebre shook her head,

"Oh you don't have to worry about that,i don't mind." Erza said,

"Why don't you stay together with me Tenebre?" Lucy spoke up,"I'm sure Mom would like that,and i have plenty of questions to ask you!"

"Well,i do suppose i have a lot of explaning to do,seeing that i pop out of nowhere and say 'Hey i knew your mom and i'm your unknown older sister!'. But are you ok with it Lucy?"

Lucy nodded happily,and chirped,

"No problem,no problem at all! But can i ask you one question first? It's been gnawing at my mind ever since i saw it happen."

" Sure,shoot."

"How was Serpe able to summon a spirit when he's one himself? " Lucy leaned her face forward,eagerly awaiting the answer,

"Hmm,this is an easy me put it simply,there are 12 zodiacs,both the Ecliptic and the Chinese, what Lucy has now are the golden keys of the Ecliptic zodiac,and their leader is Leo aka Loke the Lion. But what i have are the bronze keys of the Chinese zodiac,and i have all 12,and they have a different leadership system..."

"Wait,you have ALL 12 of the Chinese Zodiac keys,ALL?!" Lucy's eyes bulged out,

"Yes,all,and i have a bunch of other keys as well,and let me make things clear,the colour of the keys mean NOTHING,so don't underestimate my Chinese Zodiac keys just because they're bronze in colour and the Ecliptic are gold, but back to the topic at hand. The Chinese Zodiac have a different leadership system,instead of just having just one leader,all 12 take turns to be the leader every year,and being the leader has its privileges."

" First,you have a slight increase in your magical capabilities,second,he or she can open her own gate at will and finally,you are able to call out your fellow zodiacs,of course using their own magic,its actually a very useful skill to have,when the owner runs of of magic and is in a pinch,the leader is able to summon other spirits to help,and this year is the year of the snake,so Serpe is the leader this year,does this answer your question Lucy?" She finished,looking at Lucy,who was nodding dumbly at her,

"Kay! So that's done! Shall we head home Lucy? It's getting late."

Regaining her senses,Lucy smacked herself on both her cheeks,

"Sure,let's go then!"

Lucy linked arms with Tenebre,surprising her,and said,

"Since we have time to talk cause we're walking,can i ask what is the Void? You mentioned something like that when you woke up and someone by the name of Marie too."

"Well,you should know there are other world other than Earthland right? So to put it simply,the Void a world between worlds. When you travel to another world,you pass through a gate to that world,but some happen to stray from the path during their journey from world to world, so they end up in the Void, and it's also my job to lead them back to their correct world. And in your words,the Void would probably be my office and Marie is my-" before Tenebre could say anything else,Natsu zipped right in front of them,

"Tenebre,fight with me!" he shouted,and lighted his fist,

"Har?" Tenebre and Lucy said,dumbstruck,

"Oi Flamebrain! That's my line!" Gray ran in front of Tenebre, " Oi Tenebre! I challenge you to a fight!"

"Wait wait!" Tenebre waved one hand in front of her frantically, while pushing Lucy aside with another, "I have no problem with fighting,but what's with the sudden request,i mean,look at the time,don't you think you'll wake up the citizens nearby?"

"I don't think that's a problem,our guild is quite far away from the town,and we have an open field out in the front,perfect place for a fight don't you think?" Erza said,leaning on the wall near the guild's entrance,pointing outside,grinning,"And if you don't mind,i would like test out your skills for myself."

"Not you too Erza!" Tenebre groaned,rubbing her forehead,sighing in defeat,

"Looks like i've got no choice ne? Let's get this done and over with then."

And with that,she trudged out of the guild hall,muttering incoherently,while the other guild members followed behind her in their usual rowdy manner, some already making bets,

99% of the guild put their bets on Natsu,Gray and Erza,and the 1% consisting of Lucy,Levy,Mira and Lisanna put their bets on Tenebre.

"Oi oi,this is a first,since when did Lucy,Levy and Lisanna start betting." Cana said,collecting the money,

"Since the guild was being mean and not supporting a new member." Lisanna huffed,

"Since i could use this as an opportunity to ask for more information from Tenebre." Levy said,while thinking to herself, "Blackmail i mean. Gi Hee."

"Since this would be a perfect opportunity to get my rent money." Lucy said,

"Ganbatte Tenebre!" Lucy shouted, "Don't waste my rent money!"

"Tenebre,beat their asses!" Levy screamed,waving her arms in the air,

"Jeez,i sure will,i was about to go home and they just had to challenge me to a fight,now i'm pissed." Tenebre said in an icy voice,

An insane killer intent flowed of from Tenebre's body as she warmed up,glaring holes into the spot where Natsu and the others were standing at,making everyone,except Master,flinch and freeze at their spot,and immediately,15% of those who bet on Natsu,Gray and Erza changed their bets over to Tenebre,

"We believe in you Tenebre!" They shouted,

"Yosh,I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled, readying himself,

"Let's get this started!" Gray grinned,and got into battle position as well,

"I agree." Erza stood at attention,

Tenebre just stood at her spot,closing her eyes,still emitting that killer intent,

Mira raised her hands, "Ready..." ,she swiped her hands down, "GO!"

Natsu and Gray shot off immediately,

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"Ice-Make: Death Scythe!"

Tenebre stood at her spot,and said,

"Fight fire with fire,ice with ice."

Her eyes snapped open,and grabbed Natsu's flaming fist and Gray's scythe with her bare hands, her eyes flashing gold,

"Wha-!"

The sound and smell of burning flesh could be heard and smelt,and blood started dripping on the hand that was clenching onto the scythe,but her face showed nothing,not even the slightest sign of pain could be seen,flexing the muscles on her hand as she clenched them,she extinguished Natsu's flame and broke Gray's scythe.

She looked at Natsu and Gray's baffled faces,then she breathed in,and exhaled.

A puff of smoke,came out of her mouth,and she smirked,

FHWOOM!

Her entire body was enveloped in blue fire,and her hands were encased in ember-coloured ice,

The fire spread over to Natsu,and the ice crawled its way up Gray's hands,she smiled evilly,and snarled,

"Let's see how well you deal with your own element." she let go of their hands,

And they started screaming,

"HOT HOT HOT HOT! WHAT KIND OF ICE IS THIS?!" Gray shouted out trying to freeze the ice around his hands, but no matter how hard he tries,he just couldn't, "Why can't i fucking break or freeze it?!"

"HOLY SON OF A BITCH,WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS FIRE?! THE FUCK IS IT COLD?!" Natsu spat out all the fire he just tried to swallow, "Why the fuck is it sticking to me like this?!"

Tenebre lifted up her right hand,a blue flame lit up,and she looked at the both of them boringly,

"Never heard of the Frozen Flame before? Wait,of course you haven't,you only can find this kind of fire in a certain part of Gehenna,opps,my bad." She looks at Gray, "Same goes for the Ember Ice," And the said element formed in her hands,

Playing with the two elements as if she were juggling them,she said,

"The good thing about this two babies,is that they're like dogs,they listen to no one but their owners,meaning only i can unfreeze you and only I can put out those flames."

Narrowing her eyes,she increased her magical output,and the flames on Natsu increased in intensity and the ice increased in speed,covering both their bodies entirely,

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" They screamed in agony,Tenebre ignored those screams,and turned to look at Erza,who hasn't moved an inch since the fight started,

"Enjoying the show,Titania?" She said emotionlessly,

"Not really,those two idiots,charging in without thinking,now look at them,you're not really going to kill them are you?" Erza said,circling Tenebre cautiously,

"Nope,just putting them through enough pain to make them pass out,they're not going to be injured."Tenebre said,mirroring Erza's movements,

"Whooo! GO ERZA!" Some guild member's shouted,"Give this newbie a big'ol Fairy Tail welcome!"

"Let's fight fair and square."Tenebre said,a maroon magic circle appearing beneath her feet,

"I agree." The same magic circle appearing beneath Erza's feet,

"REQUIP!" They both shouted,and a bright light engulfed them both,

The light died down,

Erza was in her Black Wing Armour,and holding two axes,glinting dangerously,

Tenebre was in her Valkyrie armour,holding two long knifes,one jet black,another snow white,and both looking as sharp and deadly as Erza's axes,

They looked at each other,and disappeared,

"Where are they?!" Romeo shouted out,a finger pointed up,and Wendy said,

"There."

All of them looked up,and gasped,**( For those who can't imagine this fight,let's just imagine Jura and Jellal's fight,but replace those two with Erza and Tenebre and instead of rocks and flashy lights and staffs,its just swords and sparks. )**

Tenebre and Erza were fighting in the air,and by the looks of it,they're both equally matched.

Sparks were created when their swords clashed,and those sparks were the only things the guild member's could see as they were moving so fast,

"What the hell is happening right now?" Lucy said,eyes darting around,trying to catch a glimpse of their figures,

"I don't know,they're moving too fast!" Levy cried,

**Time skip,1hr 5mins later,in the guild ( Normal POV ****)**

"Ne,Mira-nee,are they still fighting? It's going to be sunrise soon." Lisanna yawned,slumping onto the bar counter.

"Hmm,they should be done by now i think." Mira said,wiping the last of the mugs,

"What about those two over there?" Mira looked at the direction Lisanna was pointing at,and sighed,

Natsu was looking very blue,and he was shivering,a rare sight for a Fire Dragon slayer like him,and Gray was red all over,smoke still rising up from his body,

"Well,i do suppose Tenebre has a way to deal with those idiots,so i suppose we wait for their battle to end,or we wait till Wendy-chan to comes in."

They both sighed in sync,and shook their heads,

"Reckless idiots..."

**Meanwhile,back at the battle**

"Ha...ha...your not bad with your sword..." Erza huffed,sweat rolling down her chin,stabbing her sword into the ground for support,

"Same goes to you Erza,its a pleasure to fight with someone of your skill,though i'm sorry to say that i've been fighting with my skills 98% sealed." Tenebre grinned,swinging her swords,

"WHAT?! So this is only 2% of your power?!" Erza panted and Tenebre nodded,

Sighing,Erza smiled,

"Looks like i still have space for improvement." She breathed in deeply,and looked at Tenebre,all seriousness, "This has gone on far enough don't you think,shall we finish this?" Her magical powers increased,

_"She still has so much magic left?" _Tenebre thought to herself,and grinned mentally,_ "She IS the famous Titania of Fairy Tail after all,she lives up to her name,i wonder what would happen if she does meet the real Titania?"_

"Yes,i think so to,let's finish this." Tenebre said,her magical powers increasing as well.

Both putting their all into one last attack,they frowned in concentration,the wind blew up violently around them, waking up some guild members who fell asleep during their long fight,

"What's happening now Lucy?" Mira said,walking out from the Guild door with Lisanna following behind her,

"They're preparing for one last attack,and when this is done,i CAN'T wait to go home and take a bath!" Lucy said,stretching her body,

"And we can finally see the victor." Lisanna said.

An enormous amount of magic was being emitted from the both females,the pure force of it overwhelming some of the guild members to their knees,

their eyes flashed,and they let loose their last and most powerful attack,

"BLACK WING : MOON FLASH!" Erza yelled,slicing the air twice,sending the attack straight into Tenebre's direction,

"PIERCING FANG!" Tenebre put both her knifes together in an X,slashed downwards, a gray beam shot out of it,then it morphed into the shape of a wolf,and roared as it shot forward.

Their attacks came into contact,

WHOOM!

A cloud of dust was created,obscuring their view,and when some of it cleared out,they could see two silhouettes within the dust,and one collapsed onto the ground,

"So who won?" Warren asked,coughing out some dust he inhaled,

"I can't see anything!" Macao said,and Wakaba elbowed him,

"Cause you're too old to see anything! Wahahaha!" He guffawed,and was immediately caught in head lock with Macao,

"Who yer calling old ya old man!" Macao said,

"Old man who? You!" Wakaba retorted,things were about to get fired up till someone shouted,

"And the winner is Tenebre!"

The guild's instant reaction,

Those who bet on Natsu,Gray and Erza : Slacked jawed and staring wide eyed at the fallen warrior's body laying on the dust.

Those who bet on Tenebre : Throwing their fists in the air,kissing their jewels,screaming " Rent money for three months,HELL YEAH!"

...Wait,that's only Lucy...

"I had fun Erza." Tenebre reached out to grab Erza's hand,and pulled her up,

"Why don't you look tired?" Erza said,punching Tenebre lightly on her shoulder, " You barely broke a sweat!"

" Hi . Mi .Tsu" Tenebre said,putting a finger on her lips,grinning,

Then she led her into the guild hall to where Natsu and Gray was,and said,

"Yosh,time to patch all of you up!" She put both her hands together,and a soothing green light came out of it,healing the three of them instantly, Natsu was the first to wake up,and he screamed,fire spewing out from his mouth,

"WHERE YA TENEBRE?! I GONNA BEAT YOU SO HARD..."

"I've already beaten you,have you forgotten it so fast?" Tenebre folded her arms grinning,

"I DON"T CARE,FIGHT ME AGAIN!" He yelled,running around the guild like a kid,

"Oi Lava Breath,must you be so loud?! " Gray groaned,sitting upright,

"YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH MY VOICE STRIPPER?!" Natsu shouted back,

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

"STRIPPER! GOT A PROBLEM WITH IT?!"

"PINKY!"

"ICE PRICK!"

"HOT HEAD!"

"FROSTY!"

"DRAGON FREAK!"

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME!"

And guild war 37564 started,this time,Erza,Lucy and Cana joined in,some unfortunate soul flew onto Erza table and smashed her strawberry cake into smithereens,and screaming,

"YOU KILLED MY CAKE!"

She jumped into the fray,exacting revenge for her cake.

And on the other hand,while Lucy was talking with Cana,someone crashed into their table,toppling Cana's barrel of wine,and it spilled onto Lucy's skirt,and both screaming,

"YOU SPILLED MY DRINK!"

"THIS WAS NEW!"

They jumped into the fight.

Tenebre shook her head,and walked out the guild,and laid down on one of the benches outside,admiring the stars,

"Quite a guild you have there." She said,turning her head to look at the figure beside her,

"Yep! The third's guild is so lively! I'm so proud of them!" She chimed,waving her legs in the air,

Tenebre smiled,and looked back at the sky,

"It's been too long since we've last met."

"Hmm,i believe i was still alive when we last met in person,in this form however,i think i saw you at Tenrojima,but you couldn't see me then cause you weren't a member then." She said, "Oh well! It's good to talk to you again Tenebre!"

Tenebre sat up,and ruffled her blonde wavy hair,

"It's good to talk to you again...Mavis..."

**Meanwhile, somewhere far away ( Normal POV )**

"I have to reach her..." he panted,blood trickling down his back and down his legs, "They're coming...They know about it..."

"THERE HE IS,GET HIM!"

"Shit!" He cursed,and started running once again,

"I hope i'm not too late..."

* * *

**Cliffy! Who is this man? Who is Marie? What is the Oculos Divae and what's so dangerous about it? Why does Makarov looked so panicked when he heard that the seals are cracking? And _who _****are _THEY_? Find out next Sunday on Chapter 10 : Seals!**

Preview on Chapter 10:

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**There won't be one! ^ . ^ Next chapter would be a surprise! Look forward to it!**

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**Whew! And that's Chapter 9 people! Leaving this fic alone for 3 days was agonizing! All i could think about the whole time was about the whole story plot,and believe me,three days of thinking does this fic good! So things would be getting interesting from now on! Especially with an angel-demon hybrid and a takeover demon matchmaker in the guild! Many questions were answered,but many more popped out! **

**And wow! Chapter 10 already! i didn't even realize it! And to celebrate this,i've decided to write a NaLu one shot! Ideas are already swirling around in my head right now!**

**AND THANK YOU TO ALL MY LOVELY FOLLOWERS/REVIEWERS/FAVORITERS! I LOVE YOU GUYS! PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS FIC!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	10. Chapter 10 - Seals

**Kanae: Heya all! Kanae here!**

**Gajeel : Peh,as if it isn't already obvious enough...**

**Kanae: ( flinch) Um...welcome to Chapter 10 of GOTEG :Tenebre!**

**Gajeel: Geh,do you think they are stupid...**

**Kanae: ( flinch,close to tears ) Sniff...Levy-chan! Gajeel's scary! (cries)**

**Levy: ( hugs Kanae )Oi Gajeel! Stop bullying poor Kanae here!**

**Gajeel: Hmph,serves her right for making me look weak and only introducing me last chapter. ( Glares at Kanae ****)**

**Kanae : ( flinches and hides behind Levy )**

**Gajeel: Hmph,coward.**

**Levy: GAJEEL! Stop bullying the poor girl!**

**Gajeel: Oi shrimp! Why are you protecting her in the first place?**

**Levy: Cause she promised to help me with something!**

**Gajeel: Oh,with what?**

**Levy: ( turns red and looks at ground,grinding her toe into the ground ) Urm...Just something...**

**Gajeel: ( goes up close,his face just centimeters from her face ) With. What.**

**Levy: ( turns redder at the close proximity,and runs away screaming ) I'm not saying!**

**Gajeel: What's with her...( glares at Kanae,making her flinch again) Oi you,what did you promise to help her with?**

**Kanae: ( trembles and runs away ) Wait for me Levy-chan!**

**Gajeel: ( gets pissed ) What the fuck is their fucking problem! ( runs after them) Get back here!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the awesomeness of Fairy Tail.**

**( Updated 09/06/13 )**

* * *

******Previously on GOTEG: Tenebre**

" I do suppose i have a lot of explaining to do..."

" The Void is ..."

" I challenge you to a fight...!"

" And the winner is..."

" It's been a long time since we've last met..."

"...Mavis..."

* * *

Chapter 10 : Seals

* * *

**Outside of the guild ( Normal POV )**

"I see you still have a liking for long-sleeved clothing." Mavis said,eyeing Tenebre's yukata,

"Oh this? Its been sitting in space for quite some time,so i thought it was time to take it out for awhile." Tenebre adjusted her sleeves,smoothing out the black and red fabric, " But from now on,i'll be wearing these for another reason."

Tenebre lifted up her sleeves,showing Mavis her arms,then letting it fall back,

"Ah,the seals. And according to the number of tattoos i can see,10 in total,5 each for both your main magic." Mavis said,lifting her eyebrows, "Weird thing is,you always had a flair for making such troublesome stuff look pretty."

Tenebre chuckled,and said,

"Well,you have to thank the old woman and the geezer up there for this flair of mine then,they insisted on teaching me the art of beauty," Tenebre scoffed,rolling her eyes, "Hmph! What's so beautiful about the art of war? The only thing of beauty to me when i see them would probably be their guts on a plate,now THAT'S real beauty!"

Mavis sighed and shook her head while Tenebre laughed like a crazed maniac,then she stopped suddenly,and looked at Mavis,

"Urm...I did it again didn't i?" Mavis nodded,and Tenebre sighed,rubbing her forehead "Jeez,why does using my father's magic always have that effect on me,i will never know,even though from my memories he doesn't look or act like the typical blood-thirsty,human-flesh eating demon,why does using his magic make me act like one? Sigh... Well,at least i don't look like one,for now..."

Mavis giggled at Tenebre's depressed look,her olive-green eyes twinkling,

"Hey,come on,demons don't look so bad." Tenebre lifted her eyebrows and crossed her arms,clearly unconvinced.

"Oh really? What happened the last time i showed you my demon familiar?" Tenebre showed an exaggerated frightened face, "TENEBRE! GET THIS _THING_ AWAY FROM MEEEEE!"

"Har har,very funny Tenebre,very funny." Mavis pouted childishly,Tenebre grinned and lifted up her glowing red hand,,and said

"Want me to bring him out now?"

Mavis immediately slammed ( or tried to ) her back onto the guild's exterior walls,flattening herself into the wall as much as she can,and shaking in fear,

"NONONONONONO! Okay okay i get the point! Only SOME demons don't look so bad,SOME! So please don't let him out! Please!" Mavis stammered,face even paler than she already was,

Tenebre grinned evilly,and said,

"Dante,come forth..."

"NOOOOOOOO!"Mavis screamed,covering her eyes,

.

.

.

"Eh?" Mavis peeked through her fingers,to find nothing in front of her,while Tenebre was trying to stifle her laughter,

"...Just kidding! Jeez,when WAS the last time you saw Dante,like almost 2 centuries ago?" Mavis though for a moment,and nodded her head, " Many things can change in 2 centuries ya know? He's no longer that blood thirsty,tattered cape wearing,long haired,crazy,red eyed horned and clawed psycho demon that you used to know,and yes,he no longer baths in blood everyday,so he smells WAY nicer than he used to."

Tenebre plucked out Mavis from her spot,holding her up by her collar like how a cat would hold up her kittens,

"And if i were to describe him in modern terms of his looks now,he would be what normal girls would call hot,like smoking hot,not literally though." Tenebre dropped Mavis onto the bench she abandoned,"And even if i wanted to call him out now,i won't be able to,i broke his bond to me just before i sealed myself in the ice." Tenebre sat down beside a suddenly silent Mavis,then wondering why she was so quiet,Tenebre looked at Mavis, whose eyes were bulging out and mouth opening and closing like a goldfish,

"Is there a problem Mavis?" Tenebre waved her hands in front of Mavis's face, "Hello~ From Earthland to Mavis? Are you there?"

Grabbing Tenebre's shoulders,Mavis shook Tenebre,screaming,

"YOU RELEASED HIM?! HIM?! ARE YOU MAD?!"

"HE ANNIHILATED 3 TOWNS,AN ENTIRE CITY ALONG WITH ITS HUMAN POPULATION,AND HALF A MOUNTAIN IN HALF A DAY YOU KNOW?!"

"Of course i know,i was the one who stopped him from destroying the other half of the mountain afterall." Tenebre said,as if it was nothing,making Mavis even angrier,

"YEAH,YOU STOPPED HIM ALRIGHT,SPENDING THE NEXT HALF OF THAT DAY DOING SO!" Mavis screeched,shaking Tenebre even harder, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Oi Mavis,stop shaking me! You trying to rattle my brains?!" Mavis stopped shaking her,glaring at her, "Hey i didn't do anything wrong,i had a good reason for breaking his bond."

"And what's so important that you had to break it and risk having him going on another crusade of his again?"

"Well,first things first,i can assure you that he won't be doing anything reckless,i know he hated being bound to be and that he tries to escape every time i summon him,but after being stuck with me for a little less than 2 decades,he...urm...how do i say this,became more humane?" A small smile crept up Tenebre's lips, " Who knew,all it took for him to learn the true meaning of a life was the miracle of a child."

"Miracle of a child? Who?" Mavis asked,leaning forward in interest,

"Lucy."

"Eh? Lucy-chan?" Mavis said,surprised,

**Flashback,18 years ago ( Normal POV )**

"Push,mi'lady,PUSH!" one of the maids said,earning herself a hard clench from Layla's hand,

"DO I FUCKING LOOK LIKE I'M NOT PUSHING?!" Layla screamed, "UNNGGGHHHH!"

"Language Layla! You're a lady!" Jude berated Layla, she let go of his hand,and went for his hair instead,yanking it HARD,

"IS THIS THE FUCKING TIME TO BE BOTHERING ABOUT THAT CRAP JUDE?! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Layla screeched,yanking Jude's hair and gripping onto the maid's hand,

"Just a little bit more Lady Heartphillia,i can see its head already,just a little bit more!" The doctor persuaded,

"YOU'VE BEEN TELLING ME THAT SHIT FOR THE PAST 36 TIMES ALREADY!" Layla yelled, "GET LUCY OUTTA MEEEEE!"

Suddenly,the doors slammed open,and Tenebre stood there in all her glory,grinning like an idiot,

"Heya Layla! What cha screaming bloody murder for..." Her voice trailed off when she saw what's in front of her and the looks she was getting from the people the room,she was immediately by Layla's side,pushing away the maid with an "Eep!",she grasped Layla's hand,

"So fast? I though she wasn't due to another week or so?" Tenebre asked as Layla panted hard,using her sleeve,Tenebre wiped away the sweat on Layla's forehead,

"Huff...I...I thought so too...until my...water broke a few hours ago...AAAARRRGGGGGHHHH!" Layla pushed with all her might,and when she ran out of breath,she relaxed and started breathing raggedly,

"Breath Layla breath." Tenebre cooed,gripping onto her hand firmly.

"Oi Master,can i go now?" A voice came from the direction of the door,Tenebre looked up,

"Oh Dante,you're still here?" She said,a tick mark appeared on the side of Dante's head,"Of course i'm still here,i can only go when you tell me to go,have you forgotten? Dante said with gritted teeth,tapping his foot impatiently,"So can you send me back now,i don't want to spend another second here breathing the same air as these _things_."

"GGGGNNNGGGHHHH!" Layla pushed hard,and yanking on Jude's hair just as hard,making him yelp out in pain,and gripping onto Tenebre's hand,she squeezed with all her might,while Tenebre just looked at her with a concerned look,not even feeling any pain.

"Push a little harder,Lady Heartphillia,just a bit more!" The doctor said,

"37TH TIME!" Layla screamed,

"OI MASTER! Send me back now!" Dante demanded,his red eyes flashing dangerously,his claws flashing,Tenebre just looked at him,and said,

"What yer yapping like a dog for,can't you read the atmosphere?!"

"YEA! I CAN'T READ THE DAMN ATMOSPHERE AND I DON'T WANT TO! SO SEND ME BACK ALREADY!" Dante shouted,

"Oi you! You're stressing the patient! Stop shouting!" The doctor yelled,Dante fumed,smoke trailing out from his body,

"You foolish mortal,do you kno-"

"DANTE! SIT!" Tenebre cut him off,and Dante slammed onto the ground,her orders absolute,

"Damn you Tenebre..."Dante growled,trying to pull himself up from the ground,but unsuccessful,

"Stay there until i tell you not to." Tenebre said,her attention returning back to Layla, "Oh,and one more thing,DANTE SHUT UP!" And Dante's lips were sealed up.

Hours passed,Layla laboured,Tenebre didn't even know that her hand was in the process of being broken,Jude was turning bald,and Dante was glaring holes into Tenebre's head,still stuck onto the ground and lips still sealed,

"If i could just kill her..." Dante thought,then,a jolt of pain went through him,and he cringed, "Oh yeah,i forgot,i can't even harm her,much less think about it..."

His thoughts were broken by a high pitched wail,and he looked at the bloody bundle in the arms of the doctor,after cleaning up,he saw a...a...what is it?

"It's called a baby Dante." Tenebre said,taking the baby from the doctor's arms,and cooing at it,passing her to Layla,she looked at Dante, "It's a miracle of life,one that can only happen between lovers after consumating their love for each other. One that can only happen when you've only learnt the fragility of a life,Dante,and how precious it really is."

"You can stand up and talk now."

Standing up,Dante walked towards a weary Layla,and took a closer look at the bundle in her arms,

"It looks...wrinkly and pink." Dante said,

"Its a SHE Dante," Layla breathed, " And she is called Lucy,Lucky Lucy of the Heartphillias."

Looking at Layla,Dante felt a slight tug in his chest when Layla caressed Lucy's smooth head,looking at her with so much...so much emotion in her eyes...One that reminded him of a lady that he killed a long long time ago.

Passing Lucy to one of the maids,Jude and company left the room,leaving only Layla,Tenebre and Dante in it. Looking at Dante,Layla said,

"Humans may seem weak and nothing but dust to you,but we are strong,only in our own way," Layla said,strength returning to her voice with each word, " We persevere when times look bleak,we stand strong when we are beaten down,we fight on even when the odds are against us. And we cry when we are sad,we cry when we are happy,tears may be a form of weakness to you,but its is also a form of strength,it shows that we feel,we have emotions,and that is what makes us strong,and that is what make us human,so Dante,let me ask you,"

Layla cupped his face,making him look her in the eye,

"What is strength to you? TRUE strength? Cause to me and some humans,brute strength is not everything,at least not for me,and neither is that magnitude of your magic,strength to me,is LOVE." Layla put her hands above her heart,her face serene, "Love for my husband,love for my family and friends,love for my beloved Lucy,and love to me,is also where magic originates from. Love is what makes me strong,so Dante,what is YOUR strength? What make you fight,what do you fight for,what makes you strong?"

Dante stayed silent,his shriveled greasy hair shadowing his face,

"If you don't know the answer,you can start looking for it now,change for the better,get a better understanding of what you're missing out and maybe you might just get to know your idiot of a master here a little better!" Layla chirped,

**Flashback end,outside guild ( Normal POV )**

"And for the first time,Dante didn't go all 'HOW DARE YOU ORDER ME AROUND YOU FILTHY MORTAL!' on her,i could've sworn he looked kinda meek when he asked Layla if he could take a closer look at Lucy!" Tenebre said, "But he almost gave Layla a heart attack when he manhandled Lucy when she cried,saying 'This is how i normally tame the spawns in hell,' it took me a year just to drill into his head that humans are not as durable as demons,and another two to get him to change his bathing and clothing habits."

"But a few years after he changed and grew more accustomed to me,Layla died and i decided to seal myself in ice and to release him from his bond,surprisingly, he was one of the few who quickly reject my idea,saying things like 'Hell no am i going to allow you to do this,i just got to know you,i'm not going to let you go like this!' or something,apparently,i've yet to teach him that his way for speaking tend to give people the wrong idea."

"Pfft, 'i'm not going to let you go like this!', what are we? Lovers? Yea right..." Tenebre scoffed,

"Ok,i get the idea,he's not so scary now,but what was so important that you had to break your bond with him?" Mavis asked,floating over to Tenebre's side,

"Well,sealing myself in ice was one way i could watch over Lucy and do things to help her indirectly,but it restricts the amount of thing i can do at one time,i can't possibly watch over both Lucy and _them_ at the same time while i'm frozen,so in my place,i sent Dante to watch over _them._ " Tenebre said "And he'll do a much better job than me,my shadow concealing skills are good,but not on par with him,another reason why i chose him and not my other spirits or familiars. He becomes the shadow,not just blend in with it."

"Ah,_them._ No wonder you sent Dante." Mavis said,

"Yep,weird thing is,he should be able to sense that i've been released from from the ice since i did not break the whole bond,i left just enough for us to sense each other's presence,so why can't i sense him or contact him?" Tenebre put her finger to her chin, "Maybe he's onto something..."

_"Master..."_

"Ha! I think i been stressing myself over Dante a little too much,i could have sworn i heard his voice just now!" Tenebre said, rapping her knuckles on her head, "I guess sealing myself in ice does nothing to help my stamina,i'm so going for training as soon as i get a full day of sleep!"

Looking around,Tenebre said, "Ah,talking about sleep,where's Lucy?"

"You might want to take a look inside the guild." Mavis said,smiling.

Walking/floating towards the guild's main door,she pushed open the door gently,and motioning to Tenebre to take a peek,looking through the gap,Tenebre smiled softly,

"They're not dead are they?" She whispered as she slipped through the crack,walking silently through the hall,

"Nope,they're all either feeling the effects of alcohol or just dead asleep." Mavis said in a hushed tone,giggling at the sleeping pile of guild members on the floor.

Walking towards Lucy,Tenebre squatted down beside her huddled up form,

"I hope she realizes her feelings for him soon,they look so good together." Tenebre whispered to herself,looking at the two in front of her.

Mumbling something in his sleep,Natsu shifted his body, instinctively pulling Lucy closer to him,and cuddling closer to Natsu's body for his warmth was Lucy,a tiny smile on her lips,her head at the crook of his neck and his above her head,their legs intertwined together.

"Since they're all passed out,i guess i can do a small check now."

Tenebre kneeled down japanese style,and put both her hands slightly above Lucy's body,

"_Commencing check. Type: 7-layered seal. Subject: Lucy Heatphillia,daughter of Jude and Layla Heartphillia,7th vessel of the Oculos Divae_." A otherworldly voice spoke in Tenebre's mind, Tenebre's eyes turned white,not a single spot of black was seen in her eyes,a white light emitted from her hands and from Lucy's body,

"_Seal 1: Broken. Seal 2: 78% left . Seal 3-7: Functional. Life essence used: 3%._" the voice said in Tenebre's head.

Lucy whimpered,her eyebrows knitting together in a frown,as if in pain. And as if sensing her distress,Natsu held Lucy closer to his chest,holding onto her protectively,making the frown on her face melt away.

"_Unidentified magic found. Analyzing. Type: Protection and tracking magic. Origin: Dragon Slayer magic. No other abnormalities found. End check_."

The white light blinked out,and Tenebre's eyes returned back to its silver color, the black and gold flecks appearing a little later,a troubled yet perplexed look on her face,

"It as bad as i though it would be,i have to find the spell quickly." Looking at Natsu,she sighed, "Dense idiot,he doesn't even realize that he's already started the mating process."

Leaning onto a fallen table,she slid onto the ground,she sighed,her forehead on her knee,

"First Marie,then Dante and now this idiot. And there Lucy's matter too. Sigh,things would be getting busy from now on..." Her voice trailed off when she heard something in her head,

_"Master...ca-"_

"Am i overworking myself? Why am i hearing voices?"

_"Master...Can you hear me...?"_

Sitting upright in shock,she whispered,

"Dante..." she closed her eyes in concentration,trying to strengthen the connection,

_"Master...can you hear me? BZZT! If you can please reply,this is urgent!"_

_"Dante,i'm here. What happened to you? I've been trying to reach you for days!"_

_"No time for that Master! They're coming,i'm running away from them as we speak now."_

_"Running away? Why don't you fight back?"_

_"That's exactly what i did,and now i'm severely injured,and my injuries aren't healing as it should be."_

_"WHAT?! That is not possible! Unless..."_

_"Yes,unless they have demon-slaying weapons,which can only be made demons themselves,this means that one of my kind has sided with them. And they know about it Master,about the eye! One group is chasing after me,and the second group is heading your way right now!"_

_"This is bad,wait,give me a second."_

Tenebre concentrated,reaching deep within her magic,trying to find Dante's link with her somewhere within her,digging deeper,she found it,though weak,but its more than enough for what she was planning.

Reaching out to grab it,she grabbed onto the small silver line,reinforcing it with her magic,feeling his magic respond to her own,she pulled hard,and heard a thud beside her.

Opening her eyes,she gasped,

"Dante!"

He had several gashes along his thigh,body and arms,a huge one at the side of his head,a few punture holes and burns here and there and he was practically flooding the floor with his blood.

"Hah...I finally...get to.. see you ...again Master..." He panted,smiling weakly as he cupped her cheek,then he started coughing out blood,wheezing painfully,

"Shh,don't talk,i need to get you fixed up." Tenebre said frantically,lifting up her wrist to her mouth,Dante grabbed her hand,

"No...i will...heal in time...so please...don't hurt yourself..." Tenebre slapped her hand onto his mouth,and seethed,but not too loud as to wake up the guild members," You idiot,you know that my blood is the only thing that can get you out of this mess,so shut it and drink!"

She clawed open a wound on her wrist,blood immediately started flooding out the wound,lifting up his head with her other hand,she tilted his head slightly towards her bleeding hand so he'll be able to drink,resisting,she forced her hand onto his mouth,forcing him to drink.

"Drink as much as you can, don't forget that i'm immortal,don't worry about draining my life essence."

His once taut shoulders slumped in defeat,and he drank,his apple bobbing up and down as he did,a small trickle of blood flowing down the side of his he stopped bleeding,Tenebre flicked her finger,cleaning up all the blood on the floor.

His wounds started closing up,stitching itself back together and forming a smooth layer of skin.

Regaining back his strength,Dante saw a slight sway in his master's movements,he immediately sat up,catching Tenebre's limp body from crashing onto the ground. Ripping of a strip from his coat,he wrapped it around her bleeding wrist,

"I told you i was going to be fine! Nooooo,you just had to shove your fucking hand into my face,forcing me to drink your blood,now look at you!" He growled at her,anger in his voice,but deep down,both of them knew that he was worried sick about her.

"Looks like i overexerted myself," Tenebre chuckled weakly, "My physical condition sure has deteriorated over the years,i am definitely in need of some serious training." Her cheerful demeanor took a 180 degrees turn,and her face turned deadly,

"But it seems like i have to push myself even more to my limit today,i have some bastards to deal with for messing with my precious familiar." Tenebre tried to sit up,but Dante forced her back into his arms,

"Oh no you don't,i don't care who they are or what they did to me,but you are absolutely NOT going to leave my arms till you get a solid 8 hours of sleep." Dante said,glaring at her with his piercing red eyes as she glared back with just as much ferocity.

The glaring contest went on for a full 10 minutes,then,Tenebre gave in,

"Ok ok,i admit defeat,but can you help me with something first?" Tenebre gave Dante the puppy dog look,making Dante's resolve falter,and he waved his hand in defeat,motioning to her to continue,whipping out a lacrima camera from out of nowhere,she said,

"Help me take pictures of them," She pointed to Natsu and Lucy,still cuddled up to each other,

"And them," then at Levy who was sleeping beside Gajeel,her head leaning on his broad shoulder,his arm slung over her shoulder,

"Oh! And them too!" She said excitedly,pointing at Gray,who was snoring with his mouth open and his hands and legs spread wide,with Juvia snuggling up his arm,and at Wendy and Romeo,who were sleeping with their heads on the table,facing each other, "They look so cute~" She squealed,

Dante sweatdropped,and muttered to himself,

"Looks like that Layla person influenced her a little too much..."

But nevertheless,he fulfilled his master's request,he even took pictures of them at different angles,making Tenebre drown in her own fluff pile,

"Now this is done,now go to sleep!" He nagged like an old lady,and patted his lap as he sat down on the floor,leaning his back onto the bar counter,Tenebre smiled,and laid down beside him,her head on his lap,"Good night old lady."he

Dante puffed up indignantly,and huffed,"I'm no old lady!"

"You certainly act like one..."She mumbled,struggling to keep her eyes open,then she succumbed to the darkness,falling into deep slumber.

Seeing that she's finally asleep,Dante's face softened with worry,sweeping a few stray strand of hair behind her ears,he took of his coat slowly,and draped it over her body,

"Its good to be back by your side,Master Tenebre..." He at her tenderly,leaning down,he kissed her on her lips, enveloping the both of them in a soft red light. He then places his forehead on hers,and whispered,

"And now our bond is once more,complete."

And he too,fell asleep.

**The next day, ( Lucy's POV )**

Hmm~Ah! That was the best sleep i've had so far! I stretched out of arms,feeling some of my limbs cracking from sleeping on the cold hard floor. Something pleasantly warm shifted at my waist,and somehow,i found myself leaning towards that warmth.

Wait.

Cold hard floor?

Something warm shifted?

Looking down,i found a pair of well-sculpted arms around my waist,and snuggling closer to me,and was that pink i see?

Pink?Well-sculpted arms?

Ding! A lightbulb went up,and i screamed,

"KYYYYYAAAAAA!"

Scrambling away from Natsu,i felt my face burn up,what is he doing beside me? I remembered dozing off while waiting for Tenebre,what comes after that...i can't remember...dammit.

I saw some members stir out from their slumber,and all hell broke loose.

"KYAAAAAA! HOW DID I END UP BESIDE GAJEEL?!" Levy screamed,mirroring my movements moments ago,scrambling away till she felt the wall on her back,

"OI OI! JUVIA! GET OFF ME!" Swinging his arm around,Gray tried to shake Juvia off him,who was clutching onto his arm with hearts in her eyes,

"KYAAAAA! GRAY-SAMA'S HAND!"

Juvia tried to glomp Gray,but he jumped away,pulling his arm away in the process,and Juvia landed with a splat,right next to Natsu,waking him up with a start.

"PPPLLLTTTT! WHAT THE HELL JUVIA! WHERE'S LUCY?!" Natsu spluttered out,looking around,i froze when he looked a me,

"Heya Luce!" Grinning his famous smile,and my heart started thumping,why is my heart thumping?!

"Ya okay Luce? You looking kinda red." He came closer to me,his face just centimeters from mine.

I looked away quickly,hiding my steaming face,what's wrong with me?! Think about something else! Something not related to Natsu!

Books! Urm...Boyfriends! New clothes! Natsu! NOOOOO! Rent money! A mission with no damages! Oh yeah! Tenebre! Where is she?

I stood up abruptly,startling Natsu,and looked around,and saw her below the bar counter,sleeping on a guy's lap.

Wait.

Sleeping on a guy's lap?

Guy?

GUY?!

"Oi Lucy! Look out!" Someone tackled me to the side,and i landed on top of him with a "Oof!",

When i opened my eyes,i found myself on top off Natsu,both of our legs were intertwined,and our noses touching.

"Oooo,look what we have here! Lovebirds in the middle of a brawl!" Gray teased.

I immediately scrambled away from him,my face flaming,i saw a slight blush on Natsu's face too,

"W-what lovebirds?!" He shouted back at Gray,stuttering a little,

"They liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike each other~" Happy rolled his tongue,teasing me and Natsu,

"Sh-shut up you baka neko!"

"Aaaa! Lushee's scary!"

A tick mark appeared on my head,and i grabbed him by his tail,

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU NEKO?!"

**( Normal POV )**

Tenebre groaned,rubbing her eyes as she woke up,

"Did you sleep well,Master?" Dante looked down at her face,chuckling when she grumbled,

"What's with the racket Dante?"

"Well,let's just say the couples that you're planning to _help_ out with have decided to help themselves out." He said,pointing at Natsu and Lucy,looking at heir direction,Tenebre couldn't help but squeal in delight.

"This was your doing,am i right Mira?" Tenebre looked up,and saw Mira wiping some mugs,acting innocent,

"Me? Ara ara~ I was simply tucking them into bed!" She said,smiling deviously,

"You little devil." Tenebre grinned,digging out the camera from her sleeve,she threw them to Mira, "I believe you'll make full use of it?"

"Yep,you'll probably see it up by today or tomorrow."Mira hid the camera in one of her hidden pockets,and went into the kitchen,

"What are you planning this time?" Dante looked at his master,feeling bad for her victims,

"Oh it's nothing much,you see. But now,we have some cleaning up to do."

**Meanwhile,? ( Normal POV )**

"Master,we have news that our target have been reunited with the her. Pursuit team is now on its way to regroup with the Main Group." A feminine voice said,

_"Hmm,i'm not surprised,She must have done something." _A booming voice said from on top the throne,his face hidden behind a screen,_ "More importantly,i shall assume the present is unharmed and on its way?"_

"Yes Master,it would reach the her by today,Scout Team A have already infiltrated the town." She said,

_"Good,bring up a lacrima screen,i want to see the look on her face..."_

"Yes Master." The lady bowed,and walked out the double doors.

_"I hope you enjoy your present...Tenebre..."_

* * *

**TBC! What is this present? Who is this man? What is Mira and Tenebre planning? And what is the Oculos Divae and what is so dangerous about it? Find out next week in Chapter 11: Dragons!**

Preview of Chapter 11:

"Cut the crap!"

"No...This is not possible!"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"

"TELL ME TENEBRE!"

"I'm sorry..."

* * *

**Well,other than the fact that this is a rather short chapter and that i keep leaving you guys at a cliffy,( please don't kill me! ) I'm proud to announce that my one-shot,titled _Heaven_ is well on it way to completion,though coming up with a summary for it is rather hard,cause i suck at summaries,but i hope all of you would read it!**

**AND AS USUAL,A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY BELOVED ****FOLLOWERS/REVIEWERS/FAVORITERS! HUGS AND KISSES PEOPLE! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! HOPE YA ALL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS FIC! **

******Ja Ne!**

******~KanaeHitomi~**


	11. Chapter 11 - Dragons

**pKanae: Heya all! And welcome to another chapter of GOTEG: Tenebre! This week,we have Wendy and Charla as our guests!**

**Wendy: ( bows ) Nice to meet all of you,hope you take care of me minna-san!**

**Charla: Hmph! I'll be watching you Kanae,so you better not do anything funny to my Wendy! ( glares )**

**Kanae: ( cowers in fear ) A-Aye! Ahem,now,where were we...?**

**Charla: The part where i'm about to claw your eyes out for making me see such gruesome visions? ( readies claws )**

**Kanae: Oh yeah! The part where you're about to claw my eyes out for making you see... Wait...WHAT?! **

**Charla: ( flies into Kanae's face ) NYAAA!**

**Wendy: Ano...Kanae-san...! Charla..!**

**Kanae: ( doges ) WHOA! Okay,the vision part is my fault,but it was all part of the story!**

**Wendy:**** ( Panicking )** Ano...Ato...Dare ka! Tasukete!

**Charla: ( charges again ) HIII NYAA! **

**Kanae: ( screams while dodging Charla's attacks ) PLEASE ENJOY CHAPTER 11 PEOPLE! ( Runs away) AHHHHH!**

**Charla: HYAAA! ( Chases after Kanae )**

**Wendy: ( Looks at both of them,at a lost ) Eh? EH! Wait for me! ( chases after them )**

**Disclaimer: If i owned Fairy Tail and not Hiro Mashima sensei,Natsu and Lucy would really have a baby called Nashi or Luna or Layla.**

* * *

**Previously on GOTEG : Tenebre**

"I see you still have a liking for long-sleeved clothing."

"YOU RELEASED HIM?! HIM?! ARE YOU MAD?!"

"Pfft, 'i'm not going to let you go like this!', what are we? Lovers? Yea right..."

"_Commencing check. Type: 7-layered seal. Subject: Lucy Heatphillia,daughter of Jude and Layla Heartphillia,7th vessel of the Oculos Divae_."

"_Unidentified magic found. Analyzing. Type: Protection and tracking magic. Origin: Dragon Slayer magic. No other abnormalities found. End check_."

"No...i will...heal in time...so please...don't hurt yourself..."

"Oh it's nothing much,you see. But now,we have some cleaning up to do."

* * *

Chapter 11 : Dragons

* * *

**Within the forests of Magnolia,( Normal POV )**

Just outside the forests of Magnolia,a few hooded figures stood,hidden behind the shadows casted by the trees,

"How long till Pursuit Team reaches us?"

"Another 10 minutes,sir. What should we do for now,sir?"

The figure in the middle slipped off his hood,revealing an unruly mass of chestnut-brown hair and a pair of piercing blue eyes,

"We wait,just like we've always done," he said,"While we're waiting,Afene,i want you to check on our package,make sure that _it's_ still sedated."

One of the figures behind him,most probably Afene,nodded,and faded into the shadows.

"Come on,screw Tiamat and her team! They can't even catch one itsy bitsy demon,a familiar too!" Tearing off his hood,he smiled,a crazed look his his red eyes,"I wanna have some fun right now! I'll tear off the wings of those pewny Fairies and hang them in my collection,i wanna see red...!"

"Hush Jackal! You'll have your fun next time,and we were specifically told to not make too much trouble,our objective here is..."

"Hai hai O great Daemon-sama,is to get the Vessel and the Gatekeeper,preferably while they're still alive and breathing,and if they create any trouble,which i really hope they do,unleash the big guy back there for tea time." Jackal laughed maniacally,pulling his deathly-white hair,"But i want to join the party,i don't want the asshole back there to steal my prey,they're mine! MINE!"

"But orders are orders,so you WILL follow them Jackal!" Daemon shouted,his magical aura flaring out from his body,pushing Jackal to his knees due to the pressure,

"Daemon you bastard..."He growled,struggling to stand,glaring holes into Deamon's face.

"Daemon-sama." Afene stepped out from the shadows,and bowed her head,"The beast is still sedated,we have time till Tiamat and her team reaches us."

"That's good,"Daemon said while concealing his magical aura, "Afene,i'm leaving Jackal and the men in your hands,i'm going to scout the area." Lifting his hand to pull back his hood,something white flew in his direction,quickly dodging to the side,he pulled out a knife while doing so,looking at the thing from his side view,he saw something that looked suspiciously like a feather,but it disintegrated before he could affirm his suspicions.

Clapping sounds came from the dark space in front of Daemon and his men,all tense and armed,two figures walked out,

"Impressive reflexes,young man. But i believe your time is up."

Daemon looked at the speaker in shock,and said,

"You! How did..."

"How did i find out that you people were here waiting for me? Well! A little crow flew past my window and whispered in my ear!"

**Time Rewind ( Normal POV )**

"Hell yeah,let's go now!" Tenebre grabbed Dante's collar just before he jumped off the bar counter,

"Whoa,slow down panther! Do you even know WHERE they are in the first place? "

"Sure! They're at...urm" Dante hesitated,looking at his toes,

"Hmm,where?" Tenebre prompted,crossing her arms,raising a mocking eyebrow at Dante,

"...Fine...I don't know where they are..." Dante grumbled,

"Hmm,so you thought you could go running into no where and just miraculously find them?" Tenebre tapped her chin, "Interesting..."

"..." Dante glared at Tenebre as she giggled childishly at him,

"Fine,so what do you propose we do now?" He crossed his arms and leaned onto the bar counter,

Thinking for a moment,,Tenebre said,

"First,let's get out of here." Motioning to him to follow her,she walked into the kitchen to where Mira was,

"Hey Mira," Mira turned around,still stirring the contents in her pot,"Hey Tenebre! Can i help you with something?"

"Me and Dante are going somewhere for awhile,so if Lucy's asks about me,please tell her that i'll meet her at her house by tonight."

"Sure thing Tenebre,but i've been wanting to ask you something," Mira pointed at Dante with her wooden spoon, "Who's the hottie? Oooooo! Is he your...?"

"No he's not my boyfriend,he's my demon familiar,Dante."

Mira's eyes sparkled,

"Demon familiar?! Like a real living breathing Demon?!"

"Yep,Mira meet Dante,real living breathing Demon. And Dante,meet Mirajane,the Demon of Fairy Tail."

"Nice to meet cha." Dante said,shaking her hand,

"Oh my Mavis,a real Demon! Never in my life would i have thought i would meet one!" Mira shook his hand enthusiastically, "Can i pit my magic against yours one day? I want to know if my Takeover: Demon is on par with a real Demon's magic!"

"Sure why not? Just name the date."

"Urm Dante,we need to go."

"Oh,you have to go do your thing,go on,i'll be sure to pass on your message to Lucy,have fun~" Mira said in a singsong voice,

"...Mira,you and your imagination..." Tenebre muttered under her breath .

Exiting through the back door,they walked into the forest behind the guild,

"Dante,surely you can remember how to turn into a raven?"

"You mean morphing? Yep,i do."

"Good,so do it,and i want you to scout the entire Magnolia,especially dense forests like the one we're in now,i've got a feeling they're in the forests somewhere."

"Hai Master." And he disappeared in a shower of black feathers,and he flew up into the sky.

"I guess i should do some work myself." She took out a knife and slit her palm,blood pooling out of it in an instant,dripping onto the grass,

"Thou who is bound to my blood,Ohawas,i summon thee!"

A drop of blood slipped from her hand and dropped onto the pool of blood on the grass,then,the blood turned black,and a woman rose from it,wearing a one-shouldered brown animal hide dress with a belted waist with crow feathers sewn onto the hems,her blueish-black hair hiding her face as she was kneeling in front of Tenebre,a tattoo of a crow's feather on her left arm,mirroring the feathers in her partly braided hair.

"Master,what can i do for you?" She said,her voice deep and rich,

"I want you to rally your kind and scout the entire Magnolia forest and report back to me when you find them,you of all my familiars other than Dante should be more than familiar with their magic."

"Are you finally making your move against them Master?" Ohawas said,lifting up her head to look at Tenebre,her completely black eyes glinted dangerously,

"Yes and no. I'm moving as a protective measure,so it's not really what you're thinking,but i'm also moving to confirm something,i've been sensing a familiar presence here in Magnolia ever since i woke up,but i can't pinpoint it's exact location and i can't really say that i like this feeling." Tenebre's face turned serious,her fists clenching, "I just hope my hunch is wrong."

"I shall get going then,Master." Standing up,she lifted her left hand,and whispered,

"Lend me your strength,my brethren."

A flapping sound came from Tenebre's left side,a crow landed on her shoulder,

"Caw!"

Then,more and more crows flew in,till all the branches and the grass around them couldn't even be seen,the crows were everywhere,

"Chama Wingapo. (Greetings friends) " Ohawas said,then all the crows flew up in a funnel around her,and she too,turned into a crow,and all of them flew into different directions,

_"Oi Master! You didn't mention anything about sending bird-brain!"_ Dante said in Tenebre's head,

_"Who you calling bird-brain you cherub?!" _Ohawas retorted through telepathy as well,

A tick mark appeared on Tenebre's head,

"_Black eye!_" Dante spat,

_"Pointy face!"_ Ohawas said,

"CUT IT OUT BOTH OF YOU! " Tenebre shouted,"Let's make this a friendly competition,whoever finds them first gets to eat my cookies!"

Silence...

_"Your famous cookies?!"_ They both exclaimed at the same time,

"Yes,my famous cookies,so hurry up and find them."

_"Fuck you Ohawas! Those cookies are MINE!"_ Dante screamed,

_"Oh hell no,they're MINE!"_ Ohawas yelled,

**Present time ( Normal POV )**

"Caw!"

Daemon looked at the tree where the feather was,and saw a crow perched up in one of the branches,cocking its head to look at him,it's head jerked left,then right,

"CAW!"

Then it flew onto Tenebre's shoulder,and disappeared,leaving a single feather behind.

Deamon was seething in anger,first things were not going according to plan,now this...this BIRD comes along,and did it just send him a mocking look just before it disappeared?!

"Oi Dante,stop sulking,you would've gotten your cookies if you were few seconds earlier,you always have next time though." Tenebre said to the bundle of gloom standing behind her,still sulking,Tenebre sighed,and said,

"I'll have to send you back for now Dante,go back and rest up."

This shook him out of his gloom,

"Send me back? Hell no! I wa..."

"It's not a matter of wanting or not now! They've weapons against your kind,so until i find a way to counter,rest up. Dante,return!"

And with that,Dante erupted in flames,and he was gone,

"Now i suppose you people are either here to fail miserably at trying to capture me alive or to kill me?" Tenebre said,playing with the crow feather in her hand,

"None of the above i'm afraid,we're just here on behalf on our Master to present you a gift upon your return,Gatekeeper." Daemon said with gritted teeth,waving his hand to Afene, "Bring it forth."

"Hai Daemon-sama."

"Gift?" Tenebre narrowed her eyes in a calculative manner,"From _him_?"

Afene walked out from the shadows,a chain in hand,and Tenebre's eyes widened in disbelieve,

"No...This is not possible!" She cried, "How is this possible?!"

In an instant,she had a hand at Daemon's throat,slamming him on a tree,cracks appeared on its trunk.

"Daemon-sama!" Afene shouted,her hand reaching for her knife,

Daemon coughed out blood,and gasped as she tightened her grip on his throat,

"You're lucky i'm only using 2% of my strength," Tenebre said,her voice cold,she pulled back her arm,pulling Daemon face closer to her's, "or you'll be dead by now."

"Unless you want to see this asshole's body in 51 different pieces,i suggest that all you you stay where you are,not a single step towards me." Afene flinched when she felt Tenebre's steely glare on her,and she stepped back, sheathing her knife.

"Now spit it out,why is it here?" Tenebre loosened her grip and Daemon gasped,air finally in his oxygen deprived lungs,

"I...I d-don't know..." He weezed,trying to suck up more air.

Tenebre's eyes flashed dangerously,slamming his body back onto the tree,splitting it into two,gripping harder,effectively cutting off his air supply,

"CUT THE CRAP! WHY IS THERE A DRAGON IN EARTHLAND?!" Tenebre's magical aura flared out from her body,shaking the ground around her,some of Daemon's weaker men fainted due to its pressure while the other's were barely able to stand or to stay conscious.

"A...Af..." Daemon gasped out,trying to speak,Tenebre loosened her grip,and immediately regretted it,

"AFENE,RELEASE THE BEAST!"

Afene immediately released the chains,and it dropped onto the ground.

A rumbling sound came from it throat,and its eyes opened,its yellow reptilian eyes looking around,Tenebre's grip slackened in surprise,and Daemon took this chance to escape,slipping right under,he barked,

"All units fall back!"

Snapping out of their daze,all of them retreated into the shadows of the trees,

"Daemon-sama,are you alright?" Afene was immediately by Daemon's side,rubbing his sore neck,he said,

"I'll be fine,wait till the Gatekeeper's attention is fully occupied by the beast,then send some men to fetch the Vessel."

The dragon rose up to it full height,its translucent-blue scales glinting in the sunlight,and roared at an unflinching Tenebre,

ROOOOAAARR!

"Requip: Key Wheel!" Tenebre shouted,the said item appearing in her hand with a flash of light, all her keys clinking against each other. Snapping out two bronze keys,she shouted,

"Gate of the Chinese Dragon and Snake,I summon thee,Anguis! Serpe!"

Poofing out in front of her in a shower of gold dust,both of them grinned stupidly,unaware of the situation they were in,

"Heya Tenebre-"

"DUCK!" Tenebre screamed,kneeling down,

"Huh?" They said in sync, looked back, and immediately flattened themselves onto the ground,barely dodging a breath attack.

"Serpe! I want you to go to Lucy! I've a bad feeling about this." Serpe nodded,and disappeared," Anguis,i need your help in subduing the dragon."

"Oh,just like the old days eh?" Anguis grinned evilly,getting into his battle stance,shifting his right leg back,bending both legs slightly,his left hand in front of him and his right hand at his waist,both in a 'claw',

"I said SUBDUE,not KILL," Tenebre said,sending the key wheel back and requiping into her Valkyrie armor and wielding a large double-sided sword with an "S" shape,

"Then why are you taking out the Ravager?" Anguis eyed Tenebre's choice of weapon,and leap to the side to avoid an incoming fireball,

"That was the past,though this blade as tasted the blood of countless of dragons,its no longer used for such purposes,its now just a normal weapon." Tenebre charged at the dragon,twisting the bladed in the center,the long 'S' blade split in half,and became a pair of dual blades around her height,"Let's get this done and over with,i've a feeling my presence is needed at the Void."

"Hai." Anguis said.

The dragon was now fully awake,his eyes wide and alert,he bared his fangs,and roared in Tenebre and Anguis's face,

RRROOOAAARRR!

"That's weird," Anguis said,his eyebrows knitting together in confusion,"She acting strangely."

"What's weird?" Tenebre yelled,jumping up in the air,spinning her body and her blades,turning her body into a deadly tornado,

SLASHSLASHSLASHSLASH!

Several gashes opened on the dragon's back,and she howled in pain,

"Normally i would be able to read a dragon's mind,but this one,something or MAYBE someone is controlling her,cause something is blocking me from entering her mind." Anguis shouted,running up the dragon's tail and onto its back and up to its snout,

" Secret Arts: Five Talons!"

Anguis kicked with his right leg,then pivoting his body,he spun and did another kick with his left,and right and left again,then he did a backflip,kicking the dragon's head up,and landed on the ground,skidding to a stop.

The dragon fell onto the ground,growled,and stood up again,smoke trailing out her nose,

"Mind controlled? Lemme see..." Tenebre murmured to herself,rolling to the side,Tenebre's eyes turned black with flecks of silver,and her vision changed.

The aura around Anguis was pure gold in colour,signifying that he was a celestial spirit and that he was not tainted by any foul magic,a thin thread of gold was tied around his wrist and at the other end was Tenebre,this shows that Tenebre was his master.

Tenebre looked at the dragon,and her aura flared a vibrant red,the color for dragons,but wrapped around its aura was a trail of black magic,strings coming out of its back,it was as if the dragon was a marionette and its master was... Tenebre's eyes followed the strings,and saw that it was the girl from before,the one holding onto the chains.

Snapping out of her daze,the gold flecks immediately returning to her eyes,Tenebre narrowed her eyes at the group of presences she was looking for,and her eyes turned gold,

"Ecliptic Ray." She whispered,and a purple ball sphere came out of her hand,giving it a silent command,the ball sank into the ground,and shot off into the direction of her prey.

The ball started to change in size,it split in two,the four,the it kept splitting till it was around the size of dust,its presence almost non-existent,then making its way to the group,every single one of them breathed it in.

Tenere nodded in approval and immediately,an ear-slitting screech was heard,

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Afene's body was convulsing uncontrollably,her eyes wide in horror,blood started trailing out from her eyes and mouth,lumps appeared on her body,and she exploded,her limbs flying everywhere.

A loud snap was heard,and the dragon stopped attacking,slowing putting down its claw,it looked at Tenebre with her intelligent eyes,

"Gatekeeper,you've returned." She said,bowing her head slightly,she said, "Thank you for saving me." Her pupils narrowed when she saw the group of men hiding in the shadows of the trees,she growled,baring her fangs,and opened her jaw,letting out a ear-splitting roar,scaring the men shitless.

"It was my pleasure." Tenebre bowed back,and turned her head to look at the bunch of terrified people, "I'm sorry,but i do not like your master's choice for a gift,so,all of you would have to die."

Snapping her fingers,all of the men including Daemon started to convulse uncontrollably,and they too,exploded,splattering the area with their blood and their limbs.

Only Jackal was spared,he looked at the mess with bored eyes,and drawled,

"Why spare me? Why not kill me like the others?"

"Pass a message to your Master, say " I am not yours,and never will be,so give it up. Same goes for the Vessel,hands off,she under my protection."

"So you spared me just to be a mere messenger? Fine,but be warned,we will not give up." And with that,he disappeared into the shadows,a strange look on his face when he looked back.

Tenebre too had a weird look on her face,but it was instantly replaced with her business face,walking towards the dragon,she placed a hand on its leg gently,and started healing her,

"I'm sorry for all the harm i've done to you,Kori-san,but it was a reflex of mine,attacking when i'm being attacked." Tenebre said, Kori lowered her snout,and looked at Tenebre with her left eye,and rumbled,

"It's was my fault too,Gatekeeper,i was weak enough to let a mere mortal take control of my mind,i sincerely apologize for that."

"But one thing is bothering me,the gates should've been sealed up,how on Earthland is it possible that you're here and not in the Dragon World? All the dragon's should've been sent back!" Tenebre asked,

"I was-" Kori was about to reply,but she stopped,sniffing the air,she said,

"I smell Igneel,Metallica and Grandine's scent."

"That's impossible! Unless..." Tenebre's voice trailed off when she heard the rustle of the bushes nearby,and a pink/blue/black head popped out,all three of them stood up,dusted off the leaves and looked up,

"Tenebre-san?" Wendy said,surprised,

"DRAGON?!" Natsu and Gajeel shouted,gaping like idiots,

"No,this is too early!" Tenebre said in her head,her inner self running in circles in panic.

"Oi Weird Eyes ! Why are you with a dragon?!" Gajeel growled,

"Two dragons!" Natsu added,pointing at Anguis,

"Do you know where Igneel/Metallica/Grandine is?!" All three of them said.

"I'm...I...I can't tell you! N-Not yet!" Tenebre said,guilt preventing her from speaking properly.

"WHY?!" Gajeel shouted,his arm turning into a metal pole,

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!" Natsu burst into flames,his eyes full of anger.

"Do you know where Grandine is,Dragon-san?" Wendy asked Kori,desperation in her eyes and her voice,

Kori looked at the three Dragonslayers sadly,taking a quick look at Tenebre,she saw that she was clenching her fists till blood flowed out,her hair hiding her face,rising up to her full height,she said,

"I'm afraid i cannot answer your plea,Child of Grandine,only the Gatekeeper can."

"Tenebre-san,please!" Wendy looked at Tenebre desperately,making Tenebre clench her fist tighter,

"TELL ME TENEBRE! WHERE IS IGNEEL/METALLICA?!" Both Natsu and Gajeel shouted,

Tenebre silently created a gate to the Dragon World,and it appeared behind Kori.

Hit by the scent of their lost parents,the three of them looked around frantically,desperate to find them,only to find that it came from the gate behind the blue dragon.

Tenebre and Anguis was instantly beside the gate,Anguis crossed over first,then Kori,and before Tenebre crossed,she looked back at the three of them,

"I'm sorry,i'll explain everything when i return,help me tell Lucy that i won't be back for a few days. And Natsu,please keep Lucy in your sight all times,i can't say much,but she's in danger. And one more thing,please try to remember what all three of your parents taught you,especially the part on 'MATES'."

Amd with that,Tenebre disappeared along with the gate,leaving the Dragonslayers standing there,unable to process the turmoil of emotions swirling in their chests.

"Lucy's in danger?" Natsu whispered,his knuckles turning white,"Mate?"

* * *

**On to the next chapter people! This would be a explanation on how Natsu,Wendy and Gajeel found Tenebre.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Roar

**Kanae: Chapter 12 people,enjoy your double update!**

* * *

Chapter 12: Roar

* * *

**Guild hall ( Normal POV )**

" Flame thrower!"

" Iceberg!"

" Ash Hole!"

" Popsicle!"

" Crazy Flame Spewer!"

" Ice minty fresh! "

Mira smiled as she put down a slice of strawberry cake in front of Erza,who had a huge tick mark on her head and her hands were gripping the table so hard it cracked as she tried to control her urge to beat the crap outta Natsu and Gray.

"Happy,get back here with my manuscript you baka neko!" Lucy screeched,chasing after Happy who was flying around the guild hall,with Lucy chasing after him,jumping over tables and guild members like a crazed athlete,waving her hands.

"Waaa! Lushee's being mean!" Happy flew away from Lucy screaming,Lucy's face turned red,and she screamed,

"Mean?! You're the one flying away with my manuscript!"

Jumping over another table,along with a gaping Elfman and Lisanna,she continued chasing after Happy,

"Running is for MEN!" Elfman shouted,raising his arms in the air,

"I didn't know Lucy-chan could do that..." Lisanna said,still gaping at seeing Lucy's new side,

"I'm a WOMAN for Mavis's sakes!" Lucy screamed at Elfman,sliding under a table and grabbing Happy by his tail,

"Gotcha!" Lucy was emitting a black aura,her hair was floating,her eyes red and glowing,snatching back her manuscript,she growled,

"Happy..."

A chill went down Happy's spine,making his fur stand,as he shivered under Lucy's glare,

"What should i make out of you...?" She said,running her finger's through Happy's fur, "A scarf? Gloves? Oh,i know! A sweater!" She grinned evilly,then she grabbed him by his cheeks,pulled hard,and said,

"Who put you up to this?"

"N-N-Nob-body L-Lushee! " Happy stammered out,

"W.H.O. WHO?" Lucy growled out,pulling his cheeks,"And for the millionth time,it LUCY not LUSHEE,you baka ne-"

As if by some sort of instinct,she tilted her head to the side slightly,a bar stool flew past her from behind her,her head returned to its normal position,and she continued interrogating the poor exceed.

Lisanna's jaw dropped even further,and she tilted her head to look at her sister,and asked,

"How long has Lucy-chan been in Fairy Tail,Mira-nee?"

Mira tapped her chin and thought,then she said,

"Hmm,excluding the 7 years we were on Tenrou,she's only been here for more than a year i think?"

"Only more than a year and she has already learnt the legendary Fairy Tail skill?! The 'dodging-flying-objects-without-even-thinking-about-it'?! " Lisanna pouted and folded her arms, "That's unfair! It took me two and a half to learn it!"

"Hmm,considering the fact that she together in a Team with Natsu,Gray AND Erza,its no wonder that she learnt it so fast." A glass bottle few,and it broke when it came in contact with Mirajane's forehead,still smiling even though a trail of blood was flowing down from the wound.

"Ha ha..hahaha..." Lisanna laughed,looking at the blood on her sister's forehead warily, "It must've been hard on her,going on dangerous missions with equally as dangerous team mates."

"Hai hai,but it is because of them,she is who she is today,i'm sure you've heard of most of their adventures right?"

Lisanna nodded,and said,

"I'll be lying to say i'm not the slightest bit jealous of their relationship,but it was because of the many things they've been through,that make Lucy...well...Lucy!" Lisanna smiled,then suddenly,a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes,and her smile turned into a grin, "BUT it is BECAUSE of they're so close to each other,that we're going to have so much fun aren't we,Mira-nee?"

"You've been planning something with Tenebre-san haven't you,Mira-nee?"

Mira grinned sheepishly at Lisanna,

"I've been caught red handed!" She raised her hands in mock defeat,then she put a singer to her lips, "Keep this a secret from the other girls first,would cha? Cause this time,this time I SWEAR,it will work!"

"Hai hai,Mira-nee,but on one condition," Lissana put out one finger,and said, "You HAVE to somehow,one way of another,include me in your plans."

"Ara ara,looks like this has awakened the inner demon in you eh? Hai hai,i will." Mira said,taking out her handkerchief to wipe off the blood on her head.

"Say,talking about Tenebre,where is she?" Lisanna asked,looking around, "She was here with some black hair hottie just now..."

"Oh Tenebre! I totally forgot! " Mira exclaimed, "Lucy! Come here for a sec,and stop bullying the poor thing already,i'm sure he had a good reason for borrowing yoir manuscript."

"Hmph! Good reason,to annoy me perhaps?"

Lucy let go of Happy's collar,and he zipped into Mira's arms,crying,

"Waahhh! Lushee's mean!"

"WHO YOU CALLIN-"

"Ara ara,Lucy calm down,you get wrinkles if you scowl so much."

Lucy immediately calmed down,taking a few deep breaths,she sighed,

"So,what is it that you wanted to talk about Mirajane?"

" Ah! Its about Tenebre,she left without you,saying she had things to settle,and that she'll meet you back at your apartment by tonight."

"Things to settle? She didn't say anything about it...And who was that guy together with her?" Lucy asked,

"Oh Dante-san! Quite a looker isn't he? And he's a demon,like a real living breathing demon! " Mira said excitedly, "I can't wait for our match!"

"Match?" Lucy and Lisanna echoed quizzically,

"Yep,match! I wanted to see if my Takeover is on par with a real demon!" Mira chirped happily,

Lucy and Lisanna shivered when they thought about the match,Mira the demon versus Dante the real demon,just thinking about it would render anyone sleepless of at least 3 nights.

"Hmm,but how did Tenebre get a demon as a familiar? And come to think about,we don't really know much about her and her magic,do you know anything Lucy?" Mira asked,Lucy opened her mouth to reply,but was interrupted by a loud crash and a shout,

"MY...CAKE!"

The guild was deadly silent,as they looked at the poor idiot who toppled over Erza's table along with her half eaten cake,the poor idiot that happened to be Gray Fullbuster.

"Gray...!" Erza growled,lifting him by his collar,

"E-E-Erza! I-It's not m-m-my fault," Gray stammered,"O-Oi Flame Brain! Why did you... Flame Brain?"

Everone looked at Natsu at Gray's confused look and voice as Natsu looked intently at the guild's entrance,

"Oi Metal Head,Wendy,did you hear that?"

The both of them nodded and walked towards him,

"Was that what i think it is?" Wendy asked,

"What is what you think it is?" Charla looked at Wendy quizzically,

"That sound we heard just now,do you really think it is them?" Wendy looked at her two 'older brothers',

Gajeel chomped off the last of his metal meal, "It's been 14 friggin years since they've went POOF,don't you think its weird that we suddenly hear it,i think its just a fluke that we heard the same thing."

Then all three of their ears twitched,

"Or maybe not,that is definitely a roar." Gajeel said,

"Roar?" the entire guild echoed,

"Let's go check it out!" Natsu charged out the guild doors,leaving a cloud of dust in his wake,

"Ah! Natsu-san! Wait for me!" Wendy small feet pattered on the dirt ground,trying to catch up to Natsu,and she tripped on a pebble she didn't see,

"Eep!"

She felt a firm grip on her collar,Gajeel pulled her up,and plopped her onto his back,

"Hold on tight." He mumbled,and ran after Natsu.

Left behind in their dust,was a silent and confused guild,

"What was that about?" Lucy said,a perplexed look on her face.

Using their acute sense of smell and hearing,they followed the scent and smell of the thing that might lead them to their long lost parents,and soon enough,they found themselves outside the borders of Magnolia,looking at the dense forest in front of them.

"Yep,this is definitely the smell of a dragon." Gajeel said,putting a frazzled looking Wendy down from his back,

ROOOOAAAARRRR!

"That sounded close,come on,let's go!" Natsu ran into the forest, excitement on his face,

"Wait." Gajeel pulled on his scarf,hard, "I smell blood."

"And a familiar smell." Wendy thought,trying to figure out where the scent,

"Let's just go and see!" Natsu yelled,and pulled Wendy and Gajeel together with him as he jumped through the a bush.

"The smell's getting stronger..." Wendy murmured.

When they popped out of the bushes,they stood up and adjusted their clothes,and looked up,

"Tenebre-san?" Wendy said,surprised,

"DRAGON?!" Natsu and Gajeel shouted,gaping like idiots,

Tenebre's eyes widened in surprise,Natsu sniffed the air,he smelled Tenebre's scent,laced with surprise and...guilt? Why guilt? He thought. She did nothing to feel guilty,didn't she?

"Oi Weird Eyes ! Why are you with a dragon?!" Gajeel growled,

"Two dragons!" Natsu added,pointing at Anguis,smelling the scent of a dragon on him,though it smelled weird,it was definitely the scent of one.

"Do you know where Igneel/Metallica/Grandine is?!" All three of them shouted.

"I'm...I...I can't tell you! N-Not yet!" Tenebre stammered,the scent of guilt rolling off her in waves,

"WHY?!" Gajeel shouted,his arm turning into a metal pole,

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!" Natsu burst into flames,his eyes full of anger.

"Do you know where Grandine is,Dragon-san?" Wendy looked at Kori and asked,desperation in her eyes and her voice,

Kori looked at the three Dragonslayers sadly,taking a quick look at Tenebre,she saw that she was clenching her fists till blood flowed out,her hair hiding her face,rising up to her full height,she said,

"I'm afraid i cannot answer your plea,Child of Grandine,only the Gatekeeper can."

"Gatekeeper? Who's that? Is it Tenebre?" They thought.

"Tenebre-san,please!" Wendy looked at Tenebre desperately,making Tenebre clench her fist tighter,the scent of blood becoming stronger,

"TELL ME TENEBRE! WHERE IS IGNEEL/METALLICA?!" Both Natsu and Gajeel shouted,

A bright light flashed from behind the dragon,and a gate appeared.

The scent of the dragons hit them hard,and not just any dragon's scent,their parent's scent,they looked around frantically,and saw that it came from the gate that appeared behind the dragon.

Tenebre and Anguis was instantly beside the gate,Anguis crossed over first,then the dragon,and before Tenebre crossed,she looked back at the three of them,and said,

"I'm sorry,i'll explain everything when i return,help me tell Lucy that i won't be back for a few days." She then looks at Natsu,"And Natsu,please keep Lucy in your sight all times,i can't say much,but she's in danger. And one more thing,please try to remember what all three of your parents taught you,especially the part on 'MATES'."

Amd with that,Tenebre disappeared along with the gate,leaving the Dragonslayers standing there,unable to process the turmoil of emotions swirling in their chests.

"Lucy's in danger?" Natsu whispered,his knuckles turning white,"Mate?"

"What about it?" Gajeel smashed his fist against a tree, "The word 'mate' tells us NOTHING about where they are! And what's with that gate thingy? I'm sure the both of you smelled it too."

"Grandine..." Wendy sobbed,tears falling down her cheeks,

Natsu was barely listening to them,the two words 'Lucy' and 'danger' were still swirling around his head,he had a weird feeling in his stomach and his chest,it was as if someone was turning his stomach inside out,twisting his guts into knots and squeezing his heart into smithereens.

"Lucy...Danger..." He murmured to himself,

"Oi Salamander! You listening? " Gajeel shouted, "What did she mean by bunny-girl being in danger?"

"I don't know." He growled,"But the moment Tenebre comes back from wherever she is,i'm beating the crap outta her till she tells me exactly what's going on."

And with that,he ran out of the forest,and back into Magnolia,to where Lucy is.

* * *

**And that it for this week! What did Tenebre mean by Lucy's in danger? How did Kori end up on Earthland? What is in store for Fairy Tail? Find out in Chapter 13: Void!**

Preview of Chapter 13:

"TENEBRE!"

"Summon the Council,its an emergency."

"It's all because of you..."

"Don't you DARE lay a hand on..."

"A word in private,Gatekeeper..."

* * *

**A double chapter update for Christmas! Though its over already,but hey,its never too late for presents! How was it? Leave a review or PM to tell me!  
**

**SHOUTout to my peeps!**

**FtandKanaefan: Wow! I actually had a fan? Thanks! But i think you misunderstood my statement,by next sunday i actually meant the 30/12,which is today. But thanks for the review!**

**Mira: Thanks for telling me! I'll make sure to type it correctly next time!**

**FabFairyFan/Guest : Thanks for all your reviews! I love you too! ^ . ^**

**Sovereign64: Thanks for your review!**

**GoldenRoseTanya: Is ooooooooooooo oh a good thing or a bad thing? Thanks for your review!**

**All the others: THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEWS! **

**And just a small heads up,since school's starting in like 3 days or so ( SIGH ), i might not be able to update so often,but no worries,i'm not abandoning this story, i just might not be able to update often with major exams coming up,cutting down of my computer time and possible confiscation of my phone ( NOOOO! ),but i'll try my best!**

**Thank you all for supporting this story,and i hope that all of you continue to do so!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	13. Chapter 13 - Void

**Kanae : Heya all! And welcome to another chapter of ! And some of you must be thinking "F.I.N.A.L.L.Y!",well i'm sorry peeps,but i'll try to update as often as i possibly can,that is once i manage to unbury myself from my pile of homework,sigh...Well,i guess i should cut this short since i've delayed this chapter for quite some time already,so i present to you Chapter 13 : Void!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima-sensei does, all i own is this plot and my characters.**

* * *

**********Previously on GOTEG: Tenebre**

"Cut the crap!"

"No...This is not possible!"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"

"TELL ME TENEBRE!"

"I'm sorry..."

"Lucy...Danger..."

* * *

Chapter 13 : Void

* * *

**Within the Void ( Normal POV )**

"Ne...Tenebre...Are you alright?" Anguis looked at his master's emotionless face worriedly as they floated down the Time Crux,the path connecting all the worlds,"You seem a little off ever since we entered the Time Crux,has it got something to do with the Dragonslayers?"

A flash of emotion passed through Tenebre's emotionless face,but it was gone before anyone could figure out what was it,

"Now's not the time to think about that,we've more important matters at hand." She said in a voice that matched her face,quickly requiping into her Gatekeeper robes,a black Greek chiton outlined with gold wave patterns,brown leather sandals and some of her hair braided up,trailing down her back.

"Kori-san,i believe this is your stop," She stopped floating in front of a reddish-gold vortex,and with a flick of her hand,the vortex turned into a gate,images of different dragons etched onto its golden doors,dragons in flight,dragons sparring,as well as images of dragons with their mates,the images so vivid,so realistic that it almost seem to be alive. "I'm sorry for all the inconsideration i've put you through and..."

"I'm certain this is not my stop Gatekeeper,i believe i have an arranged meeting here at the Void,"Kori rumbled,a mischievous glint in her slitted pupils,"arranged by you of course."

"Ah,i should've known,you're part of the Council, Kori-san? "

"Yes i am,i'm The Frost of the Council."

"Hmm..." A thoughtful look on her face,Tenebre asked, 'I don't suppose Igneel is still..."

"Still The Flame,though he was suspended for two years due to his...issue...and was temporarily replaced by...Firanga." Kori huffed,cold air came out from her nostrils, "I never liked that guy,hated the time he was placed in charge of the Fire tribe,and i still hate him."

"I have to agree with you,though i've only met him twice." Tenebre said,grimacing slightly "What about..."

"Ahem."

The both of them turned to glare at Anguis,who flinched under their heated glares,

"Urm,sorry to intrude ladies,but i think we should hurry back to the La Forteresse,i can hear Marie's screeching from here." Anguis said,pointing towards one of the vortexes,this one black and white in color.

"Really?" Tenebre strained her ears to hear even better than she already was,and she cringed as she heard her subordinate screeching from beyond the vortex,

_"Tenebre Akarusa! You are in SO much trouble,not-so-young-but-looks-young lady! Get in here right this instant!"_

Anguis gulped,and stared at the vortex nervously,

"Urm,i guess i better head back to the Celestial World for now,call me if you need help,bye!" He said quickly,before poofing off in a poof of gold dust.

"Well,that was quick,bad blood between pretty boy there and your assistant?" Kori raised a scaly brow,amusment in her icy blue eyes,as she looked at the spot where Anguis was standing at just a moment ago.

"Well,he still haven't gotten over his trauma of being whacked on the head repeatedly with a frying pan by Marie on one of her...urm...tantrums." Tenebre said while scratching the back of her head,

"Tantrums?" Kori said,looking at Tenebre skeptically,

"Aye,i've no other word for it,now,let's hurry in,before she takes it to the next level." Tenebre closed the gate to the dragon realm,and opened the one in front of them,a simple black gate with silver swirl patterns on its double doors formed,opening it,they crossed over into the core of the Void,into the La Forteresse.

**Back on Earthland ( Normal POV )**

The guild doors slammed open,all heads in the guild turned to look at the lone figure standing there,with two other figures approaching behind him,

"LUCY!" He shouted, "Where's Lucy?!"

Natsu stormed into the guild,looking for head of blond hair amid the sea of confused faces,

"Natsu? What's the matter? Lucy just went home a moment ago...HEY WAIT!" Mira shouted into the cloud of dust created by Natsu as he ran out of the guild.

"What the...? Mira looked at Gajeel and Wendy,who had just came into the guild just after Natsu ran out,and asked, "What happened? Where did you guys go? Why did you guys suddenly run off like that?"

She gasped as she took a closer look at Wendy's face,her red rimmed eyes and her sad,despairing look,going down her knees,she grasped Wendy's face and growled,

"Who made you cry?"

This sentence seem to bring forward some sort of memory,a tear trailed down Wendy's pale cheek,another followed,and soon,Wendy went into a full blown crying mode,crying out Grandine's name every few sniffles or so,

"Grandine..." She whimpered,her tiny hand unable to keep up with the steady stream of tears flowing down her cheeks,

Mira directed her glare at Gajeel,who was staring at Wendy with barely concealed brotherly concern,and snapped,

"Details. NOW."

**With Natsu ( Natsu's POV )**

Dammit,why the hell did Tenebre give me nothing but a bunch of useless riddles! My brain is not made for thinking this hard! Mate? What about it? And what danger is Lucy in?

Gagh,this is not the time to think about this! Right now,i need to find Lucy!

Pumping my legs harder to run faster down the familiar road that led to her house,taking a good whiff of the air around me,i caught her scent,her unique strawberry and vanilla scent,and it smells recent,she must be near!

True enough,i caught a flash of blond hair from within the crowd,slowly weaving her way through the busy afternoon crowd,slowing down occasionally to stop and look at the different merchandises for sale.

"Lucy!" She turned back to look at me quizzically,raising a slender eyebrow,

"Heya Natsu!" She gasped as she took a closer look at me, "Look at you,what on earthland happened? You look like you've just ran through hell and back! Did something happen?"

"Urm...nothing in particular..." Shit,i did not think about this,what am i supposed to say...then inspiration hit me,

"Ah! Tenebre!" I exclaimed,slapping my hands together,earning myself a strange look from Lucy,

"What about her?" She cocked her head to the side,

"She said she'll be gone for awhile,don't know how long though."

Lucy face fell when she heard this,folding her arms below her huge boobies and pouting cutely...

Wait.

Cutely?

WHEN THE HELL DID I START THINKING ABOUT HER THIS WAY?

"Mou~ And i was hoping to spend more time getting to know about her and to get new information from her." She sighed, "I guess that'll have to wait for now."

She turned on her heel,and looked past her shoulder at me,and waved,

"Well,i guess i'll head home for now,see ya Natsu!" And she turned to walk away.

Before i knew it,my body moved on its own,my arm reached out to grab hers,and my mouth moved on its own accord,

"Wait."

Turning back to look at me,she frowned,

"Hmm?"

"I...urm...was hoping to stay at your place for a couple of days."

She blinked.

and again.

and again.

"Har? Why on earthland do you need to do that? Don't you have your own house?" Her frown then turn into a glare, "And as far as i can remember,when ever have you needed MY permission to enter MY house when you break into MY house all the time?"

I flinched under her heated glare as i scratched the back of my head sheepishly,hostility radiating off her body in waves.

But the thought of leaving her alone gives me a strange clenching feeling in my stomach,jeez,i wonder why?

_"And Natsu,please keep Lucy in your sight all times,i can't say much,but she's in danger."_

Ah,that's right,cause Lucy's in danger...wait a minute,why the hell is Tenebre's voice playing in my head?!

Quickly thinking up with something,i mumbled out,

"Ah...ya see...our house got caught a...urm...landslide and so now me and Happy need a place to stay for the time being while we fix it up and so...we were thinking about staying at your house."

Lucy continued to glare at me,then she sighed,and raised her hands in defeat,

"Fine,but just until you fix your house up,and that's it okay? And you are NOT to get anywhere near my bed,you understand?"

I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders and i sighed in relief,and grinned,

"Thanks Luce! You're a life saver!" Though technically there's nothing wrong with my house,hmm,wait a moment,i'm forgetting something...

Hmm...

Something blue slammed into my chest,drenching the front of my vest with over dramatic tears,

Oh shit.

"NATSU YOU BAKA! YOU LEFT ME AT THE GUILD! WAAHHH!"

I ran off without Happy.

Shit.

**Meanwhile,at the La Forteresse ( Normal POV )**

"TENEBRE!"

Flying gold-plated paperweight.

"YOU."

Flying plate.

"INCONSIDERATE."

Flying lamp.

"SELFISH."

Flying saucer.

"BRAINLESS."

Flying sofa.

"BUFFOON."

Tenebre skillfully dodged all the flying objects with practiced ease as she made her way to her table,which was in the middle of a huge amphitheater,while Marie,a stern looking little girl with shoulder-length purple hair with lavender colored eyes wearing a black and purple gothic lolita dress,dark purple flats with small black roses on top and a black rose pin on the left side of her hair,pining some of her bangs away from her face,was throwing various objects of different shape and size at Tenebre.

But despite her cute body stature and her natural puppy dog face,the terrifying scowl on her face and the black-hole like aura around her was not one anyone or anything would like to mess with,especially since she was holding her favorite choice of weapon her hands.

A frying pan.

Yes,audience,you've heard that right,a frying pan. A very normal harmless piece of kitchen equipment that we normally use to fry our breakfast bacon and scrambled eggs turned into a weapon of mass destruction under the hands of this cute,petite little girl.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH PAPERWORK I HAVE DONE FOR YOU DURING THE PERIOD OF YOUR SELF-PROCLAIMED HOLIDAY?!"

She swung her flying pan in the direction of Tenebre's head,which she dodged with ease.

Meanwhile,Kori looked at their interaction with mild amusement from a spot in a corner of the amphitheater while Marie screeched in her bell like voice,

"COMPLAINTS, PETITIONS,ETC ETC!"

Panting hard,she rested the pan above her knee,glaring a hole into Tenebre head, lifting it up again,she charged at Tenebre,who just stood there doing nothing,waiting for the hit.

Then,when she was about to hit her,Marie let go of the pan,letting it clatter noisily behind her,and tackled Tenebre into a mini bear hug.

"You baka,leaving and sealing up yourself without even telling me or giving me any prior warning." She said,her weary voice muffled by Tenebre's chiton,

Tenebre looked at Marie with tender eyes,slowly stroking her hair,and said,

"I'm sorry Marie,but i needed to do it,but can we catch up later? We've got a crisis at hand."

Marie sobered up with that statement,wiping away some mist from her eyes,she whipped out a pair of glasses from out of nowhere and swung her hands in front of her, several screens and keyboards opened in front of her,pushing up her glasses,she looked at Tenebre,

"Orders,Gatekeeper." She said in a professional voice,

Nodding at Marie in appreciation,Tenebre said while taking her position behind her huge silver gilded curved table,

"Summon the Council,its an emergency."

Marie's small fingers worked efficiently,flying from keyboard to keyboard,as she sent out different summons to different relms,while reading out the replies from them effortlessly,

"All the members of the Dragon Council have been notified and are gathering at the main gate even as we speak. Mustache man has already been at the gate ever since dragon bastard went back the the Celestial World. The Faerie King Oberon and Queen Titania and their band of retainers are already at the main gate of their world. The new king of Edolas has been notified,no reply yet,maybe due to his inexperience as this is his first meeting,i'll send one of my little ones to escort him to the main gate of his world as well as to brief him."

While listening to Marie's reports,Tenebre used her magic to clean up the place,returning things to their respective positions,then she quickly looked through all the reports Marie did during the time of her absence,reading through 7 to 8 at a time so she'll know the different happening in the various relms.

" The Arcadian Queen and her retainers are also on their way, Seraphim-sama sends her regards. And urm...The Gehennian King and his retainers are also on their way and he sends his regards in a rather colourful language. The various leaders of the Otherworld are awaiting your signal at the main gate as well."

Taking a quick look around her and nodding her head in sastisfaction,Tenebre took a deep breath to compose herself,then putting on her emotionless facade,she looked at Marie who was at her side,

"You ready?"

Marie allowed herself to smile a small smile,and she said,

" It's been so long since the last meeting,so i'm more than ready."

Kori watched with renewed interest as the Gatekeeper closed her eyes and said in a powerful voice full of authority and confidence,

" I,Tenebre Akarusa,Gatekeeper of the worlds,comand you,the gates that connects this world from the rest,to open!"

An unlocking sound was heard,and 7 gates appeared at 7 different sections of the amphitheater,all bearing their own design.

The largest one of them all,the Gate of the Dragons,opened in all its red and gold glory,and out came 8 dragons.

Marie's voice rang through the hall,

"Presenting the Dragon World's representatives, The Dragon Council! Igneel of the Fire, Nero of the Water, Terra of the Earth, Grandine of the Air, Metallica of the Metal, Lumiere of the Light, Noir of the Dark,and lastly, Draco of the Stars."

Kori lumbered over to them,and after a quick yet touching reunion with her master and mate, Nero, she joined the group.

A bright flash of light enveloped all 9 of the dragons,and in their place,stood 9 very attractive humans, the human versions of the dragons.

* * *

**Descriptions of characters:**

**Dragons : ( Human form - all adults except Draco who's a teenager )**

**Igneel - **Lava red scales,black eyes ( Natsu-like hair but longer,maroon colored hair, tank top and scaled scarf,black trench coat ,combat pants, finger less gloves and boots)

**Metallica -** Greyish black scales,red eyes ( Spiky black hair way shorter than Gajeel's, grey turtle top and black ripped jeans with chains,metal studded boots )

**Grandine - **Bluish white feather like scales,blue eyes ( Long,straight blue hair with side bangs ,long sleeveless feathered white dress and white flats )

**Nero - **Ceruean blue scales with green eyes ( Short ceruean hair with choppy uneven bangs, a dark blue button down shirt with top two unbuttoned,black pants and shoes. )

**Kori - **Translucent crystal-like scales with icy blue eyes (her eyes were yellow the other time cause she was being controlled) ( Alice blue tipped white straight bob hair, white high necked short dress with crytal studded edges and heels )

**Terra - **Green scales with soil brown eyes ( dark spring green pixie hair, brown tank top,black jeans and boots )

**Lumiere - **Pearl white scales,white yellow eyes ( pearl-white over waist length hair, a plain white cloak with a deep cowl shadowing half of her face and with gold linings, looks hidden for now )

**Noir - **Bottomless black scales,deep purple eyes ( onyx black long crew cut hair, a plain black cloak with a deep cowl shadowing half of his face and with silver linings, looks hidden for now )

**Draco - **Blueish black scales,with silver eyes ( short spiky black hair like Noctis from Final Fantasy versus XIII , simple tight fitting v-necked black tee with gold studded dark blue khakis shorts with black sandals )

* * *

"Greetings, representatives of the Dragon Council." Tenebre said,nodding at them in acknowledgement,

All of them looked at Tenebre, all of them gave her the same look, all of them saying the same thing,

_"We need to talk." _

Tenebre gave them a silent nod,knowing that this moment would come inevitably,and directed her attention to the group of newcomers coming out from the gate of the Otherworld,a black and blue gate with images of wolves, phoenixes and other otherworldly creatures engraved on its double doors.

" Presenting the representatives of the Otherworld! Fengari of the Lycans, Vidian of the Phoenix, Beledonna of the Night and lastly, Nezhirt of the Soul."

4 figures walked out of the gate,

Fengari, a young looking guy with grey and black ears protruding from his dark grey hair wearing nothing but a pair of black slacks with his bushy grey tail sticking out from behind him,his bored amber eyes shifting from side to side,looking around.

Vidian, a lady with flowing red/orange mid back hair and eyes that is constantly changing in color like living flames, just like the flowy segmented dress she was wearing, she almost seem to have her own gravitational field as she glided to her seat,her hair and parts of her dress floating on their own accord.

Beledonna, a teenager with deathly white hair sporting a simple blue crystal hair piece ontop her elaborate hairdo, wearing a black and blue victorian dress hiding her face behind a black,spiky war fan,her red eyes gleaming in amusement from behind it,her entire seem to be themed with the gate of her representation.

and lastly, Nezhirt, a very pale looking man wearing a labsuit with many stitches on it,his blond-white hair a rat's nest in need of a good combing,and his olive green eyes restlessly shifting from side to side,like a cornered rat.

As they proceeded to their seats,Marie continued to announce,

" Presenting the representatives from the Faerie Realm, The Faerie King Oberon and Queen Titania,along with their retainers, Vesna of Spring, Leto of Summer, Aki of Autumn and lastly, Iarna of Winter."

Coming of from a green and gold gate with various pictures of faeries and the seasons engraved on it, entered the esteemed guests of the Faerie Realm.

A crown of golden vines sat on King Oberon grey blond hair and Queen Titania honey brown hair,they both wore a matching set of light green robes lightly encrusted with jewels of different shades of green and blue and a pair of comfortable leather slippers, though Queen Titania's set was more on the feminine side.

Their 4 retainers wore similar robes but in white,and a brooch representing their season on their left breast, a jewled flower for spring, sun for summer, autumn leaf for autumn and a snowflake for winter.

Both their striking blue eyes seeked out Tenebre's,and sent her a silent nudge of encouragement and inquirement,then they headed to their seats,with the 4 seasons trailing closely behind them,their iridescent wings glinting under the light of the braziers.

" Presenting the representative from the Celestial World, The Celestial King. "

Entering from his golden gate engraved with all 88 constellations in all his moustachy glory, he entered with his cape flaring and his moustache twitching,

" Its been a long time, old friend." His voice boomed from across the hall,

" Indeed it has." Tenebre said stoically, but she can't help but let out a really small smile at the sight of a sorely missed friend, she quickly wiped it off when she saw Marie stiffen and felt the chilling sensation down her spine, even without Marie announcing it, Tenebre already knew who was coming next. Or to be more exact, _whom_.

" Presenting the representatives of Arcadia and Gehenna, Seraphim and Mephisto along with their retainers."

Both entering at the same time, they looked quite the part with their outfits and their entourage,however,Tenebre couldn't care less about greeting the leaders of both her race, she didn't have anything against them, but on the other hand, she did have something for the people that were standing directly behind them.

Her accursed relatives from both sides.

* * *

**Descriptions of characters: **

**Arcadia : **

**Seraphim - **just search up this name along with 'shining ark' , and yes, i get most of my inspiration from games, and imagine instead of a pink and white hued dress,it white and gold hued,her wings are way bigger and are of the same theme as the picture,and her hair is smoke white and her eyes are like quick silver.

**Gehenna : **

**Mephisto -** something like Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji but wearing a black suit with gold lining and a button down black shirt without buttoning the first 3 buttons and having long hair that is tied with a black ribbon at the end and having molten gold eyes rather than red, and his wings are folded up behind him, black wings with a reddish hue.

* * *

Tenebre held down her boiling emotions,as well as struggling to keep her face completely neutral in an effort to not let her emotions control her actions, it would not bode well for her if she were to go berserk in front of these people,or rather, she refused to show any emotion, they were just not worth it.

Giving the two leaders a nod of acknowledgement, completely disregarding the people behind them,when she was about to turn her attention away from them, a voice snapped from their direction at her,

" Is that anyway to treat the people who raised and fed you, you abomination?!"

Tenebre's head swivelled in her demon grandparent's direction,and she seethed through clenched teeth, her eyes flashing dangerously,

" As far as i'm concerned, you're only here as a retainer, you have no say in this meeting, much less so in telling me, the Gatekeeper, what to do. It's only in the interest of your master that you are even allowed to step foot in here, if it wasn't for them, i would've already disposed of you the moment your breath entered my realm."

Their faces went red, and even before any of them could say anything, she snapped, deciding that it was time for a little rank-pulling,

" NONE of you now have ANY authority to do ANYTHING to me, the moment i was chosen for the role of the Gatekeeper, it severed any ties i had with anything and ANYONE, that means that you imbeciles are NOTHING to me right now, and with the authority passed on to me by the previous Gatekeeper, I am able to do and WILL do what i am capable of doing against the likes of you, so if ANY of you DARE to tell me what to do or to demand anything, somebody help me, i'll throw you into the deepest, darkest corner of the Void, where there is ABSOLUTELY no chance of escape or let me put it simply, you die, cause NONE of you, have that kind of authority against me, am i understood?"

This shut them up, though they were glowering at Tenebre with devoted hatred, and just to make sure they got her point, she repeated herself, this time, letting her magical aura flow out of her,

" Am i clear?"

Begrudgingly, they nodded stiffly at her, glaring at her with a passion,

" Oh one more thing," Tenebre said, making sure to make herself sound as professional as possible, " congratulations on embarrassing your masters, i'm sure all of you feel proud of yourselves, now if all of you would be so kind so as to report to where people of your kind should seat at, that would be great, cause all you are doing now is wasting precious time of the leaders of the other worlds."

Striking their last nerve, both their black and white wings ruffled as they readied themselves to throttle the Gatekeeper,when a soft but powerful voice froze them in their tracks,

" Wait."

The Arcadian Queen, Seraphim, stepped forward, her hands spread forward in the semblance of peace, and serene smile on her porcelain face,

" Now now, there is no need for all this unpleasantness, am i right, Ministers?" She said sweetly, an obvious tone of authority in her voice, giving them a message,

_"That's far enough."_

A silent threat, but an effective one, especially so since it came from the highest authority of Arcadia herself.

All 4 of them bowed and walked back a few paces, the pair from Gehenna cringing under the heated glare of their King, literally, his red eyes looked like miniature nuclear bomb explosions.

"Ahem."

All turned to look in the direction of the voice from a clear blue gate ,and Marie added quite apologetically,

" Presenting the representative from Edolas, the newly crowned king of Edolas, King Jellal."

Dressed in his usual self just without the mask and staffs, he walked over to Tenebre as instructed by the small purple bird on his shoulder,

" You must be the Gatekeeper, Tenebre Akarusa, i presume, or rather, as i'm told by this little one sent by you?" He inquired, looking her over, then bowing ,"It's a pleasure to meet you,i hope you'd guide me along during this meeting."

"The pleasure's all mine," Tenebre bowed back, "but that little one's not mine, she belongs to my assistant her, Marie, and she'll stay with you throughout the entire meeting, briefing you through everything that goes on in here, telepathically through a private channel of course, and please don't hesitate to ask her anything that you're not sure of."

"I will keep that in mind." Jellal said.

Then,Marie walked forward, and announced,

"Would all members currently present here please take a seat, the meeting is about to start."

An immediate rustle of clothes filled the room as everyone moved to their respective places,including Jellal who was guided by the little purple bird on his shoulder, and the 4 Arcadian and Gehhenian ministers,after shooting Tenebre one last withering look.

After all of them have seated, Tenebre walked back to her table, with Marie following closely behind her, and said,

"Alright,let's cut to the point, Pheles is back."

A collective gasp was heard throughout the amphitheater, and Mephisto slammed his hand on the marble table,

"Impossible! He's dead!"

"Or so we all thought. But i've evidence against this." With a flick of her wrist,a huge screen appeared behind , and a video of her battle with the possessed Kori and her other enemies played on it, and it paused when it showed the images of the the many hooded figures,three of which were who were unhooded, Daemon, Afene and Jackal,

"Take a closer look at the girl's neck," Tenebre zoomed into the picture, a close up on Afene's neck, a small red blotch was seen, but upon closer inspection, another collective gasp was heard.

"Shit,it is true," Igneel muttered vehemently,staring intently at the tattoo of a small red scythe, "Pheles IS back."

"But how is that possible? We killed him with our own hands! We SAW him disintegrate right in front of our very eyes! So how is this possible?" King Oberon said, a frown marring his usually joyful face,

"Whether it's possible or not now it's not the problem, what is he up too is, and how exactly did he get resurrected from the dead is next." Tenebre said, closing the screens behind her,

" However,during my absence, i did not leave the safety of the relms to total disregard, I sent several of my personal guard to the different realms to continue to watch over in my stead, and i apologise for not warning all of you in advance of my actions-"

"Which brings us to our next topic of your incompetence as Gatekeeper." Tenebre's grandmother from hell cut her off, standing up to her full height and lifting her chin, looking over the others contemptuously,

Tenebre's eyes flared,but she chose to remain calm, and she said slowly, pronouncing her words carefully,

" And what was it that made you say something like that, fellow _retainer_ of the Gehhenian King?"

Blatantly ignoring her master's warning glare, Tenebre's grandmother continued to speak, clearly overstepping her boundaries,but was so blinded by her anger that she did not bother to care,

" You were clearly overcomed by petty human emotion for that worthless blond haired human trash, and you let it overrule your train of thoughts, and without consulting any of us or without any warning, you closed all the gates with your little sealing in ice, not only does this show that you do not have what it takes to be Gatekeeper, this only proves to show that you are _nothing_ but a impulsive _filthy_ hybrid child! " She finished with a huff, a satisfied smirk on her face, awaitng some sort of outburst from Tenebre, but she was greeted with nothing but silence and many astounded looks from the other members present, and much to her anger, rather than the reaction she was expecting, she received the exact opposite.

Looking straight into her eyes, Tenebre smiled, it was a pleasant smile, but many noticed that it never reached those alluring black and gold flecked silver eyes of hers,

" Oh is that so, Ture? But i believe this impulsive hybrid child you are talking about just so happen to be your granddaughter." Tenebre said, mild amusement in her eyes,though shrouded by a layer of hate and disgust. " and seeing that i've been 'trained' under you people, doesn't this show that you people are too worthless and impulsive?"

Ture's went red,and she shouted, losing all her composure,

" You DARE talk back to me?! You've no right! And it was because of you that my..."

A blackish red prism trapped Ture inside it before she could say another word,

" I think you gone far enough Ture," Mephisto snapped, his eyes literally emmiting fire, " Dacne, keep your damn wife in check, or i'll do something i should've done many MANY years ago to the both of you the moment i found out you were hiding and 'training' your half angel half demon grandaughter behind my back."

Nodding his head robotically, Dacne pulled the prism with his struggling wife back to their seats, eyeing his king warily, as if he would suddenly decide to make his wife spontaneously combust.

Turning his flaming eyes to look at Tenebre, Mephisto said crudely, showing obvious dislike for her,

" Apologies for my retainer's rather unsightly behaviour."

He then sat back down on his throne like seat.

Clearing her throat, Tenebre continued the meeting,

"Now,back to the topic on hand, other than the fact that there were some rather unpleasant riots and protests against the forced closure of the gates, i apologise for that, but i believe the various world have found peace and stability despite the closure of the gates, which now bring us to our next topic, the reopening of the gates." Tenebre said,looking over all of the members present,

" I know that many of you have found it quite inconvenient as there were some resources that could only be found in other worlds, like Celestial silk which i believe is quite sorely missed in the Faerie Relm, Arcadian musical instruments, Gehennian coal and Underworld ink. But with Pheles up and running, i not sure about reopening the gates, or rather, leaving the gates open just like that."

" So now's the time to deliberate with your fellow council and leaders of the other worlds, the meeting would recomence in a few minutes time, you're all free to roam."

A loud slam was heard, and the shuffle of clothes and wings were heard as all of them moved around, some greeting one another, some whispering amongst their own group.

Tenebre felt Mephisto approaching her from behind even before she even saw him, and turned around to greet him,

"Mephisto, its been awhile."

"Yes it has, _Tenebre_." He spat her name out as if it was toxic, "I'm surprised that i've yet to blast you into smithereens."

Hearing this, Marie puffed up like an angered cat,

" Don't you DARE lay a hand on Tenebre!"

Waving his hand infront of her dismissively, he continued speaking,

"Afterall, you are the very existence that i could never..."

" Mephisto." A gentle voice called his name, and Seraphim stepped out from behind the pillar.

An almost pained look crossed over his face, but it was gone before anyone but Seraphim could see, and spinning on his heel, he stormed in the direction of King Jellal,

Seraphim looked at Tenebre apologetically, and said,

" I'm sorry for his attitude, but he can't help it, afterall..." Her voice trailed off as she looked over Tenebre with longing eyes, but as soon as Tenebre saw it, it was gone, replaced by its usual luster,

" Enough apologies, it's so good to see you again Tenebre." She said warmly as she gave Tenebre a brief hug,

"But leaving the greetings aside for now, a word in private,Gatekeeper, regarding the Oculos Divae, or more accurately, _my eye_..."

* * *

**And that it for Chapter 13 : Void! I hope you've all enjoyed this very much delayed chapter . . Ooo, the Oculos Divae is actally Seraphim's eye? What is Mephisto pain? What has Tenebre got to do with this? Find out in Chapter 14: Eyes! **

* * *

**Preview on Chapter 14 : Eyes**

" It's my fault..."

" Who the fuck are you?!"

" Me? In trouble?"

" Where on Earthland do you..."

" I WILL protect her!"

* * *

**Now, for more important things, due to my national exams, the updating schedule of this story would be changed to every month, i know its going to be a very long time, but i assure you that it will return to the every sunday schedule by August of October, but in the mean time i hope that you would all bear with me.**

**And a HUGE thanks to those to all who is still supporting this amateurish story of mine, And i hope that you would all continue to do so! LOVE YA ALL! I REALLY REALLY DO! Just seeing that there are even people reading this makes me happy! ^.^**

**Till next time!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	14. Chapter 14 - Eyes

**Kanae: Hello and welcome to another chapter of GOTEG : Tenebre! It's been a long time hasn't it? Yep it has, for both you and me, though i think it feel longer for you guys though. Now,presenting this chapter's guest,Juvia!**

**Juvia: Juvia is happy to meet everyone. ( Bows ) Juvia's curious, why has Juvia only appeared in one chapter of your story Kanae-san?**

**Kanae: Urm...( shifts uncomfortably )... i haven't really thought about you...?**

**Juvia: ( starts making it rain in an enclosed area ) You didn't think about Juvia? ( depression mode ) Is Juvia really that transparent? ( mumbles )**

**Kanae: ( Panics ) NO ! I...Urm... Hey Juvia! But at least i...urm... put you together with Gray in the chapter you were in! Yeah!**

**Juvia: ( Clouds clear a little ) Oh yeah, you did, ( Clouds return ) but it was only for one chapter,and only one small scene, Juvia want more Gray-sama! ( Glares at Kanae ) Does Kanae-san like Gray-sama as well?! That's why Juvia has so little scenes with Gray-sama! LOVE RIVAL! ( demonic aura forms behind her ) **

**Kanae: ( Freaks out ) Wha?! What did i do?! And i am NOT in love with Gray! ...Ok...( mumbles) maybe just a little...**

**Juvia: ( rages ) Juvia knew it! Kanae-san IS a love rival! ( Water forms in her hand) Juvia will get rid of love rival!**

**Kanae: WHA?! IJFCF! PDFJF! JFFH! GAH! ( Runs away cursing)**

**Juvia: LOVE RIVAL! ( chases after her )**

**Disclaimer : Fairy Tail wouldn't be so awsome is i was the owner of it instead of Hiro Mashima sensei.**

* * *

**Previously on GOTEG : Tenebre**

"TENEBRE!"

"Summon the Council,its an emergency."

"It's all because of you..."

"Don't you DARE lay a hand on..."

"A word in private,Gatekeeper..."

* * *

Chapter 14 : Eyes

* * *

**At the La Forteresse ( Normal POV )**

_"...my eye..._"

Tenebre's eyes narrowed into slits,

"What about it?" She hissed,but she then realised who she was talking to, and quickly bowed down at her waist, and said,

"Please pardon my..." Seraphim raised a hand to stop her, smiling gently at her, she shook her head,

" No need for apologies,this is a sensitive issue for both of us afterall." Seraphim's hand unconsciously reached out to touch her left eye,whose silver color was slightly dulled compared to her right eye, "Since the main topic of the meeting today is about Pheles, well... i figured it was time we came clean on what exactly happened during the Dimension War, or rather, I came clean with what happened." Her hand fell back to her side as she sighed,then she looked up at Tenebre and said,

"I believe that you are in contact with your friend's daughter, Lucy Heartfilia, am i right?" Tenebre nodded, " and i'm sure you're well informed of her... 'condition' ?" With a bit of hesitation, Tenebre nodded slowly, not knowing where this conversation was going, "But do you know WHERE it originated from?"

Tenebre shooked her head, "Layla told me it was a family 'gift', she prefered to call it that, but i prefer to call it a curse."

" And right you are, as it is both a gift as well as a curse... but it WAS my gift as well as my curse."

Tenebre inhaled sharply, her eyes widening in realisation,

"You mean..."

Seraphim simple looked at her and said,

" During the Dimension War, i did not LOSE my eye in an accident, Pheles caught me by surprise by opening an unauthorised gate to Arcadia, behind my throne in the throne room, my eye was GORGED out by Pheles during the confusion, who believed that by doing so he could blackmail me into marrying him." Her lips curled up in disgust,"he knew what my eye held, or rather, the power it held. But before i could give him my answer, Mephisto came with reinforcements with the gate you created from Gehenna, catching Pheles by surprise, surprise at seeing you and especially at seeing Mephisto."

"My eye fell from his grasp, and down into a portal that my dreamweaver angels use to send their woven dreams into Earthland, and into the dreams of a lady by the name of Lucille V. Heartfilia, the great-great-great-grandmother of Layla Heartfilia. In dreams, things are seen differently, my eye fell from the sky of Lucille's dream, morphing into the likeness of a silver teardrop, and it fell on top of Lucille's head, and the eye, sensing that she was a potential carrier, entered Lucille's dream body, which is almost equivalent to a human's soul, and merged together with her."

A pained look flashed on Seraphim's face as she recalled the next moment of her memories,

" It was too much for her, my eye, the Oculos Divae literally means 'the eyes of the goddess', forced her to bear visions of the past,present and future, and its pure unadulterated power was simply too much for Lucille's soul to bear, any moment later her soul would've ripped into shreds, leaving her body to become nothing but an empty shell. I couldn't just let an innocent mortal die just because of my indecisiveness, so i used my powers take back most of its powers, but i couldn't remove everything for fear of damaging her soul, so a part of its power lingered."

"It allowed her to see the only glimpses of the future, but at a price, every vision she sees would eat up a portion of her life, for the eye's power is still too much for a mere mortal to bear, even a smidge of it is too much... It wasn't her CHOICE to be 'gifted' with such a power, it was forced upon her, every unwanted vision she got just got her closer and closer into the awaiting claws of death. I thought that when she died, the eye's power would return to me, but the power being inherited down her family was something i did not expect. With the exception of Lucille, for she got her 'gift' in a different manner, all the others, Lotus, Luxurian, Lenne, Lianne, Layla and now Lucy, had their first visions at the age of 17 and have an average lifespan of the age of 47."

"All of them inherited the signature Heartifilia sunshine blonde hair and hazel brown eyes, and all of them gave birth to a single female child with the gift, only Lianne gave birth to two children, the first being Liam Heartfilia, but after Lianne told him about the family 'gift', he went missing at the age of 5, when Layla was just a 9 month old babe. Unable to shoulder both her grief from losing her son and the curse of the Oculos Divae, she died at the early age of 45, when Layla was 20,she never knew of her older brother, Lianne carried that knowledge with her to her grave. Layla was special, she was the one who got closest to the secret behind the curse, but she was cursed by another curse brought about by Acnologia,and died early, but not before she found a seal that could seal up the visions, and using her last dying breath, casted it upon her daughter, Lucy Heartfilia."

Tenebre stood there in front of Seraphim, shell shocked, her mind working overtime to digest the onslaught of new information,her eyes opened wide in disbelief,

"No way...all this time...i never knew..."

Seraphim looked at Tenebre guiltily,and said,

"All i can possibly say now is that i'm sorry, it's my fault for letting Pheles gorge out my eye, for not being able to help, for not telling you this and for keeping this from you."

Tenebre just shook her head, suddenly looking 10 000 years older, " It's not your fault, you had your reasons for doing so,and even so, what can we possibly do so now? I can't risk damaging Lucy's soul by ripping away the Oculos Divae from her soul, neither can i just doing any sealing spell that might undo or damage the current seal on her." Tenebre ran her hand through her hair, a few stray locks of black-silver hair escaping from her braid.

Seraphim nodded her head, " That might be true, but i might have just found a solution."

Tenebre's head snapped to look at Seraphim,

" What?"

" After Lucille died, i created a special place in Arcadia, whose sole purpose is to house the family of Heartfilia's, all who have died under the name of Heartfilia would achieve eternal paradise there after they've died."

Tenebre's eyes widened in realisation "Which also means..."

Seraphim nodded once again,

"Layla is there."

**Meanwhile, back on Earthland, at Lucy's apartment ( Normal POV ) **

"Lucy~"

Twitch.

"Luuuucy~"

Tick mark.

"Luuuuu-"

"WHAT?!"

Lucy slammed her hand down on the table and stood up, a few sheets of paper flying of her table as she did so.

" I'm hungry!" Natsu whined, rolling around on Lucy's bed.

The tick mark on Lucy's head increased in size, and her eyebrow twitched as she tapped her foot impatiently,

" You just ate 2 minutes ago!"

" But i'm still hungry!" Natsu continued rolling on her bed, whining like a 5 year old kid.

Lucy grabbed her hair in exasperation, thinking to herself just how exactly did Igneel feed this son of his, then she thought, Natsu probably got his eating habits from his dragon of a father.

" Ne, Lushee~"

"Yes, Happy?" Lucy said through her teeth,

"Can i have this fish?" He said, pointing at fish that was already in his mouth.

SNAP!

" Ne, Natsu, did you hear something?" Happy said, munching happily on his stolen fish,

" Yea, did something just... s-snap...?" Natsu's voice faltered as he felt a menacing aura behind him. He gulped and slowly turned to look back at Lucy.

Her fringe were shadowing her face, so Natsu couldn't see her eyes, but he was sure he didn't want too judging by her i'm-gonna-kill-someone aura and her medusa-like hair.

" THAT'S IT! OUT! BOTH OF YOU OUTTA MY HOUSE!" She screeched, throwing various items at an unnerving speed, all embedding themselves into the wall behind Natsu and Happy as they scrambled around trying to dodge all the flying projectiles.

" But Lushee~ Then we have no place to stay for tonight!" Natsu whined, while giving himself a mental pat on his back for bribing Happy with a week load of fish in exchange for his silence and for him to just follow his lead.

" I don't care...you both...GAH!" Lucy stormed to her bed, turning off the lights on her way, enveloping the room in darkness, dived under the covers, and yelled from under there, her voice slightly muffled, " Fine, but the both of you are going grocery shopping with me tomorrow, and YOU'RE paying for it! And stay on the couch,got it NATSU?! Now go to sleep!"

" Aye sir!" The both of them squeaked, and was on the couch in a flash, feigning sleep.

Moments later, when Natsu heard her breathing go even which was a clear sign that she was asleep, he shifted Happy from his belly onto a fluffy pillow, and sneaked into Lucy's bed, wapping his arms round her shivering body,

" Jeez, why are you always so cold Luce?" Natsu muttered to himself, increasing his body temperature a little higher to warm her up.

Attracted to his heat, Lucy unconsciously snuggled closer to Natsu's unnaturally warm body, her head nuzzling his neck, making him stiffen for a moment, before relaxing to her soothing strawberry vanilla scent.

Lucy shivering soon stopped, and she sighed in contentment, making Natsu smile at her innocent looking face, and he too soon fell into deep sleep, breathing in Lucy's scent with each breath he took.

As soon as he did, something slithered in the corner of Lucy's room, and a pair slitted yellowish-green eyes peered out from the darkness.

**Back at the La Forteresse ( Normal POV )**

"Tenebre," Marie slid beside Tenebre, and whispered into her ear, " An hour has passed, and most members of the council have already made their decisions." Her eyes slid to look sideways at Seraphim, and narrowed, " Maybe you should continue this..._ conversation_ after the meeting?"

Tenebre snapped of her daze, and shook her head, composing herself, then she looked at Seraphim and said,

" Perhaps we should continue this discussion after this meeting is over? I believe i should not waste anymore of the council's time, seeing that i've already wasted 14 years of their time."

Seraphim nodded, "If that is what you think is for the best, i shall abide by your decision, and perhaps i might finally repay my debts to the Heartfilia's with the decisions made then." With that, she glided back to her seat, the gold tips of her wings glittering like 24-carat gold under the light of the braziers.

As soon as Seraphim's out of earshot, Tenebre turned back and asked Marie,

" Marie, what is the time now on Earthland?"

Taking a quick glance at her ever present purple lacrima tab, she replied,

" In exactly 3 hours time here, which is 3 minutes on Earthland, it'll be midnight, the 17th June X791."

Nodding to herself, Tenebre thought, _" 3 hours eh? It should be more than enough to settle the drama here."_ The she remembered the looks she got from the dragons, and groaned, mentally face-palming herself, _"Or maybe not..."_

"Tenebre, are you alright?" Marie looked at Tenebre worriedly,

"Eh? I'm feeling fine, tired, but fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you were frowning like you were having a major headache, then you groaned out off nowhere and then you smacked yourself in the face." Marie then smiled a little, "Were you thinking about those things in your head when you unconsciously did it physically?"

Tenebre nodded, while really smacking herself mentally in the head repeatedly,

"Ahem," She cleared her clear throat, and adjusted her messy braid," Right, shall we get back now? I don't want a bunch of rabid council members after me if they miss their tea time." and she promptly marched out into the main hall, with a flustered Marie scampering after her.

The moment Tenebre stepped onto the raised platform where her table stood, the entire amphitheater went silent, all looking at her with anticipation and curiosity.

"Right, now the time to cast your votes, all who are in favor of the reopening of the gates, raise your hands and say 'Aye'."

King Oberon and Queen Titania were the first to raise their hands, then the Celestial King, closely followed by the Dragons and the Otherworlders, then Seraphim and Edo Jellal and last but not least, though rather reluctantly, Mephisto.

" All in favor of the reopening of the gates?" Tenebre asked in reconfirmation,

"Aye." Their collective voices echoed throughout the hall.

A loud band was heard, and the braziers flared, adding the dramatic effect to Tenebre's words.

"It's decided then."

"Wait."

Queen Titania stood up, and looked over everyone,

" Before anything else is done, i believe i speak on the behalf of everyone that we should impose some restrictions upon the reopened gates?"

Murmurs and grunts of assent were heard throughout, and Tenebre said,

" If that is what the Council desires, so it shall be, so what are these restrictions you speak of?"

"Firstly, we should only allow authorised people through the gate, maybe give them a pass or something like that for them so that the Guardians can identify them?" Seraphim suggested, standing up as well, "With Pheles and his minions up and running like that, i'm not sure i, or we, would like to leave the gates wide open for them to wreck havoc wherever they warp to, especially since Pheles has already mastered the skill of forcing open gates."

Tenebre nodded, and said,

" That idea shall be further discussed and refined, Marie, note that down for now."

"Yes, Tenebre." And she started typing on her tab, the she said, " Tenebre, just to let you know, this meeting ends in a minutes time."

" Noted."

Tenebre then turns to look at the council members,

" Members of the council, i'm afraid that our time here has almost come to an end." She says, " As a follow up to this meeting, it'll be best if all of you could send me a list of things in which you think is particularly important for me to know and if you have any other suggestions regarding the restrictions that would be imposed on the gates, send in your proposals via Marie-Line, it'll be put under my highest priority file. "

"And with that being said, i bid all of you farewell, and till we meet again."

Most members, like Mephisto, immediately stood up and disappeared through their gate, some, like the Royal Faerie couple and the 4 seasons, stayed behind to catch up with some old friends,

" Hullo Old Friend!" The Celestial King and King Oberon grabbed each other in a manly hug,

"Celestial King! Your moustache look just as twitchy as i remembered it to be!"

The Celestial King chuckled deeply with stroking his moustache with two fingers.

" Titania-nee!" Beledonna squealed, discarding all her ladylikeness and running into Titania'a arms,

"Bele-chan!" Titania said, looking her over at arms length, surprise on her face, " My gosh, what have they been feeding you? You look like a weed!"

" Mostly wild animal blood, a little Lycan blood sometimes as a treat, and some eidolith food every now and then." Beledonna chattered, hopping from one foot to the other like an kid on sugar rush, happy to finally reunite with her idol, " Though i kinda miss the grapes that you grow there at the Spring Greenhouse..."

"You poor thing," Titania said, "Tell you what, after all these gate issues have been settled, i'll invite you to the upcoming Summer Solstice Ball at the Faerie Palace, that should be fine with you, am i right Tenebre?"

Titania turned her head to look at Tenebre, who was standing nearby,

"Summer Solstice Ball? That's in 4 days isn't it? I guess i could make some special arrangements for her..."

"OhthankyouthankyouthankyouTenebre,youwon'tregrett hislikeever!" Beledonna gushed, hopping a circle around Tenebre,

" Bele, you're getting overexited again." Vidian said, drifting over, her voice a mix of a different voices talking at the same time, the flames of her clothes licking the floor, but not damaging it.

Beledonna stopped hopping around, then she smiled sheepishly at those around her as she soothed out the crinkles on her dress,

"Opps." She said,

" It's ok Vidian, it's ok for a 1700 year old vampire to act this way." Titania said, smiling gently at her, with Vidian returning back the smile with just as much warmth,

" You kept track of my age!" Beledonna squealed, starting to get overexited once again, when a hand came down on her head, messing up her elaborate hairdo,

" Hey chibi, chill would cha?" Fengari drawled, ruffling up Beledonna's hair, making it messsier,

" Get your hands off me you canine!" Beledonna said,

" Hai hai, and like what some Earthlanders say, ' whatever' ."

" Does this happen all the time?" Oberon says, eyeing Beledonna flailing arms cautiously, as he saw her fail at hitting Fengari as he held her at arms length and continues teasing her,

" Pretty much," Vidian sighs, sounding like an entire marching army skidding to a halt in the sand, " And poor Nezhirt gets dragged in almost everytime as well." Pointing at the poor blond-white haired man who was getting leg grappled by Beledonna in a very unladylike fashion, just bacause he was too slow in replying to her demand for help.

Then Tenebre suddenly stiffened, and inhaled sharply,

" It's starting again." She whispered,

Sensing the suddenly tensed up atmosphere, Beledonna and Fengari stopped their sqabbling, Beledonna finally releasing poor Nezhirt from her death leg grip,

" What's starting?" Igneel said, walking towards the small group that formed round Tenebre's table, with the rest of the dragons following behind him,

" Another vision has started." Tenebre breathed.

**Back on Earthland ( Normal POV )**

Natsu awoke to Lucy's whimper and her trembling body,

" Lucy...?" He said, rubbing his eyes groggily,

Lucy did not reply, but started whimpering again, a frown on her face as she started to break out in cold sweat,

" ...o" She mumbled, so softly that even Natsu couldn't hear her, moving closer to her, he heard,

" ...no..."

"No?" Natsu said to himself, confused, " No what?"

"NO!" Lucy suddenly screamed out, scaring Natsu as he tumbled off her bed due to her shout assulting his sensitive ears, and waking Happy up,

"Natsu...?" He mumbled,

" Luce!" Scrambling over to her side, Natsu grabbed hold of her shoulders, shaking her in an effort to wake up, "Wake up, Luce!"

She did not. Tears flowed freely from her tightly closed eyes as she continued tossing and turning in the restrains of Natsu's arms, screaming and mumbling incoherent words,

" NO! ...Ten...su...vi...Tsu!"

Natsu was frantic, he has never seen Lucy act like this during a nightmare before, sure, he was around when she had some nightmares, but all she did was to toss around in bed for awhile before going back to sleep.

" Natsu, what's happening to Lucy?" Happy asked worriedly, his eyes wide with fear ,

" I don't know! But fly to Wendy's house and get her here, fast!" Natsu gritted his teeth, his voice tight with worry,

" Aye!" And he shot off out Lucy' window,

Then her eyes opened, and Natsu felt himself relax sightly, but he tensed up again once he saw the vacant _dead_ look in her eyes, and the fact that both of them had a small silver dot the shape of a teardrop in the middle of her brown irises.

She went stark still in his arms, and Natsu went into panic overdrive,

" Lucy! Snap out of it!" He grabbed her face with both his hands, forcing her unresponsive body to look at him, "_Lucy_!"

" Don't just sit there and shout out her name you buffoon! Do something!"

Acting purely on instinct, Natsu grabbed Lucy into a protective hug, the look in his eyes almost feral, and he let out a guttural growl at the figure hidden in the shadows,

" Who the fuck are you?!"

" Whoa there, it's me, Serpe!" Serpe stepped out of the shadows, " Tenebre sent me here."

Still not releasing Lucy from his hold, Natsu continued to growl at Serpe, his instincts taking over Natsu's ability to think,

_Mate._

_Pain._

_Protect._

The only three words in Natsu's panic stricken head.

" OI!" Serpe shouted, his voice permeating through the fog in Natsu's head, " Now YOU snap out of it!"

Natsu looked up from Lucy's pale face and at Serpe,

" Follow your damn dragon instincts for fucks sakes! Your her protector, so DO something!"

" Protector...?" Natsu mumbled, then his body moving on its own accord, his face came closer to Lucy's,

" Lucy..."

And he kissed her.

His body lit up, engulfing the both of their bodies in flame, but not damaging anything. The fire was golden-red, hot yet comforting, like a lover's brace during a cold night.

Releasing her lips from his kiss, he looked at her.

Lucy's tears stopped, her body lost its ridgitness, and her eyes went back to normal,

" Natsu..." She whispered, sending a shiver down Natsu's spine.

Then she went back to sleep, her breathing even and her face calm.

With Lucy still in his arms, Natsu looked down at her, and let out a long sigh, tension and worry making its way out his system.

" You're in sooo much trouble my friend." Serpe said, acting nonchalant, though worry was still evident in his eyes,

" Me? In trouble?" Natsu said, finally finding his voice through the rock that had somehow found its way down his throat,

" Yep," Serpe said, " You just stole her first kiss."

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

"WHAT?!" Natsu seethed, glaring at Serpe, " My best friend just started screaming bloody murder out of nowhere, some weird teardrop thingy appears in her eyes and now all you're worried about is the fact that i stole her first kiss?!"

" Her first kiss, second, third. I don't care. As long as it keep her from acting that way, i'll do it as many time as i have to."

Serpe looked surprised for a moment, then his face went back to normal, and he said,

"You'd say all this, but what is Lucy or Tenebre going to say about it? Or rather, the correct questions for this situation would probably be," Serpe's face turned deadly serious, " do you really_ think_ she's just a best_ friend_ to you? And do you even _know_ what's happening to her, and can you _protect_ her?"

**Meanwhile, a few minutes back in the La Forteresse ( Normal POV )**

Tenebre paced back and forth in front of her table with much difficulty with an extra load on her leg, biting her impeccable nails which grows out every time she bites it, a bad trait she got from Layla, odd seeing that Layla was a lady who was brought up in a family who discourages such acts.

" Oi Tenebre."

Tenebre froze mid step, almost stepping on the extra load, and slowly turned back to look into a pair of onyx black eyes,

" Stop pacing already, don't you think the floor is already clean enough?" Igneel said,

Tenebre scowled, and glared at him,

" Tell that to this thing on my leg, if it weren't for you and your stupid mouth, i'd be out of here a long time ago."

Her sentence only made the arms around her leg tighten,

" I only said it as a joke, i didn't think that she'd take it seriously." Igneel said, then he groaned as Tenebre glared even harder at him, if looks could kill, he'd be dead at least a few million times already, " Jeez, just chill would cha? I'm pretty sure my idiot of a son would do something to help his chosen mate." Then he muttered darkly to himself, " Even though he's too fucking dense to realise it..."

" Igneel, language!" Grandine chided.

True to his words, Tenebre received a telepathic message from Serpe,

_" Yo Tenebre, ya there?"_

Tenebre did a mental eye roll at him,

_" You're speaking directly into my mind how can i_ not_ be here?"_

_"Right right, just so you know, Blondie here just got another vision, and from the looks of it, the second seal just broke."_

Tenebre's eyes widened, unaware of the mental conversation going on in her head, those around her started getting worried, even Marie who was still clinging onto her leg,

_"WHAT?! That fast?!"_

_"Yep, and stop shouting in my head, jeez, you're giving me a headache..."_

_"Now's not the time to be fooling around! This mean that the damn eye's powers are growing stronger, but how? It's power should've depleted after being passed down seven generations!"_

_" How am i supposed to know, i'm busy trying not to be vaporised by a very angry Dragonslayer."_

Tenebre groaned, "_ What did you do this time?"_

_" I might have said and done something between telling him to kiss her to shock her out of her trance and telling him he was incapable of protecting Blondie...?"_

Tenebre face palmed herself, her weird actions giving everybody except Marie around her weird vibes, almost questioning her mental state,

_" You idiot,"_ She hissed in her head with as much venom as possible,_ " You just made the _worst_ mistake of questioning a dragons ability to protect his mate."_

_" Oh right...i forgot."_

_"You...you...GAH!"_

"Marie, do you mind letting go of my leg now? I swear that i'm not going back to Earthland..."

Marie cut her off, standing up quickly, she said,

"Really?!"

"...For now." Tenebre finished, but before Marie could dive for her leg again, Tenebre said, " I'm going to Arcadia to settle some important business."

"Now where on Earthland do you think you are going now? Arcadia? Hell no fucking no! Not until you have listened to every fucking goddamn word what WE have to say here!" Metallica growled,stepping forward, with the rest of the dragon following his stead,

"And we all should know what it is regarding." Grandine said,

" Its about our children." Kori added on,

"Our beloved Dragonslayers." They rest said in sync.

**Present time, back on Earthland ( Normal POV )**

Serpe gulped as he cringed under the very heated glare of the Fire Dragonslayer as he was practically smoking from his ears, if not for the fact that he was still cradling Lucy in his arms, he would probably be on fire by now.

_"Why did i just say that...?" _Serpe thought, _"Right, i just blurted it out, damn me and my stupid mouth..."_

Meanwhile in Natsu's head, the words that Tenebre said to him several hours ago suddenly came back, and echoed endlessly in his head, as well as a memory he couldn't quite grasp,

_"...please try to remember what all three of your parents taught you,especially the part on 'MATES'..."_

_" ...remember..."_

_"...mates..."_

_" ...important one... never let go... incomplete...other half..."_

_"What is it that i can't remember?! Damn i hate this feeling!" _Natsu thought to himself,then remembering something else that is more important at hand, he continued glaring at poor Serpe, and growled,

" I don't care what Tenebre thinks, where the heck is she when this happened?! And i'm sure Lucy will understand, or at least i think she will, but you questioning my ability to protect my loved ones is going to far."

" I WILL protect my nakama, I WILL protect those who are in need of help and I WILL protect Lucy! I WILL PROTECT HER IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!" He said loudly, but not too loudly so as to wake up Lucy.

" And you! One more thing! " Natsu scowled, " What the fuck are you doing in Lucy's house in the first place?!"

_" Just great," _Serpe groaned inwardly,_ " Now how am i going to explain this to both this dense ass and Tenebre?"_

**Somewhere faraway, ( Normal POV )**

" Master, the recovery team has returned." a soft voice belonging to a female said,

_" That's good, bring them in."_ The figure's voice boomed from behind the veil,

"Yes Master."

She bowed, and gestured for the door to be opened, the huge steel reinforced wooden double door opened, revealing a disheveled looking Jackal, his white hair a leafy brown mess with unidentified brown-black stains on his cloak, he walked forward and knelt down,

"Master Pheles, i've returned."

_" You're all that's __left of the recovery team?" _Pheles said, the sound of sniffing coming from behind the veil from where he was sitting, followed by a loud thud, and the crack of bones,

"Yes Master," Jackal said, head still bowed,

_" Ha, as expected of the Gatekeeper!"_ Pheles laughed out, a dry grating laugh,

"She also mentioned that she didn't like your choice of a 'gift' ."

_"Oh really? That's too bad, for there are many more gifts and surprises awaiting her!"_ With that, Pheles laughed out loudly, a laughter overflowing with madness.

From behind the veil, Pheles bent down, and lifted the girl's face with his finger, her sun-bleached blond hair trailing off her limp lifeless face, and smirked, looking at her with a mixture of lust,madness and want.

His grabbed a bunch of her hair, brought it up to his face, and sniffed hard, like an drug deprived man, a deraged look in his eyes, he growled,

_" You'll be mine soon..."_

* * *

**What is this memory that's probing at Natsu's mind? What's going to happen to Lucy? Will Tenebre find Layla in Arcadia? Who exactly is Pheles aiming for? Find out next time on Chapter 15 : Children!**

* * *

**Preview on Chapter 15 : Children**

" Where is she?"

" Tenebre?"

" Are we ever going to see them ever again?"

" I'm sorry..."

" No..."

* * *

**And that's it for Chapter 14! Remember to leave a review after reading, it inspires me to write faster ( though technically i'm actually updating this fic illegally since i've been banned from my computer,phone and tab,opps? ) ! And because of that it's making it exceedingly hard to update but i'm trying my best to keep to the monthly schedule, but i really hope you guys are enjoying reading this fic as much as i enjoy writing it! :)**

**BIG HUMONGOUS GINORMOUS GIGANORMOUS THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE REVIEWED,FOLLOWED AND FAVORITED THIS FIC, MANY GAZILLION HUGS AND KISSES DARLINGS! **

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**

**PS: How many of you are reading '****The Cashier in Cashmere' by_ cleathe? _**It's a really REALLY good fic, and its NaLu! 


	15. Chapter 15 - Children

**Heya all! Making a few changes to my usual intro and stuff just so that we'll be able to jump straight into the story, just so all of you know, i'll be rewriting some of my earlier chapters as i found some really huge errors with them. Now, into Chapter 15 : Children! ( Updated 05/06/13 )**

* * *

**Previously on GOTEG : Tenebre**

" It's my fault..."

" Who the fuck are you?!"

" Me? In trouble?"

" Where on Earthland do you think you are going..."

" I WILL protect her!"

* * *

Chapter 15 : Children

* * *

**On Earthland ( Normal POV )**

" What the fuck were you doing in Lucy's house in the first place?!"

Serpe gulped, while sifting through his numerous lie files, but not before Natsu snapped at him,

" Don't bother lying to me, i smell you thinking about it from here already."

With his best option gone, Serpe went with his next best option, telling the truth, well... not the _entire_ truth,

" Well, Tenebre sent me here after Lucy, cause she thought she might be lonely without her..." Serpe said, barely blinking at the half-lie he just said, a trait that's part of being the crafty Snake of the Chinese Zodiac,

"Hmm."

Natsu didn't look very much convinced, but seeing that Lucy was more important now, he decided not to pursue this matter, but another,

" Oi Derpe, what do you mean by ' know what is happening to her' ? She ain't sick is she? Cause if she is it's a good thing i sent Happy to get Wendy then, cause then she'll be able to heal Lucy and..."

Serpe shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders,

" Well, dude, i'm afraid this is a question only Tenebre can answer, and not even Lucy here has the answer to it."

" So where is she then?" Natsu said, " You keep saying Tenebre here and Tenebre there but where is she?"

Serpe scratched his head and leaned back into the wall, and said,

"She should be back sometime now i think..."

"From where?" Natsu repeated, getting rather irritated, but all Serpe did was just to look at him knowingly, which infuriated Natsu seeing that he knew _nothing_,

" From somewhere in which might just grant one of your all time wishes." He said cryptically,

" Wish?" Natsu said, all irritation gone from his voice, confusion in its place, " What wish?"

" That's a question only you have the answer to."

**Back in the La Forteresse ( Normal POV ) **

Tenebre flinched at the mention of the word 'Dragonslayer', Igneel noticed it, and said,

" Oi Oi, no need to get all tensed up like that, we just wanted to ask a few questions-"

" And to get some fucking goddamn answers." Metallica cut in, earning him a well earned smack in the head by Grandine herself,

" How many time have i warned you about your language today, Metallica!" She chided, giving him a hard look,

"What?! It not like midget here has never heard of words like that before, " Metallica retorted, " She even curses sometimes herself!"

Grandine gasped, and smacked him harder at the back of his head, and hugged Marie,

" How can you accuse Marie of such blasphemy!"

Marie looked at Metallica with a innocent face from under Grandine's arm, her big oh-so-innocent eyes blinking wetly at him, only Metallica and Igneel noticed the small mischievous glint in her eyes,

" You little devil..." He muttered,

" Urm, Grandine? I know you miss Wendy and all, but you don't have to squish every little girl that's around her size that's out there ya know?" Draco said, pointing at the squished up looking Marie who was in the midst of being suffocated by Grandine's boobs,

" Oh hush, Draco." Grandine said sharply, " You don't know the pain of losing one of your children, you never did raise a human child as your own."

" Hey, i have unusual circumstances ok? Do you see any other dragon that is both a celestial spirit and a dragon?" Draco pointed out, " Ya don't right? I don't have that kind of freedom you normal dragons have."

" And it's not like i can just_ give_ or _present_ my key to any Celestial Spirit mage out there, i have..._rules_ to follow." He grumbled,

" Oi, can we please get back to the topic at hand," Nero said, his arm slung around Kori's shoulder, pulling her closer,

" We agree." Lumiere and Noir said together in sync,

" Ok ok fine!" Draco said, then he mumbled to himself, " Jeez, i hate it when they do that."

" Right right, so Tenebre, can we pass through the gate into Earthland...urm, like now?" Igneel went straight to the point, not wasting anytime beating round the bush.

Though Tenebre knew this moment would come, she was still caught off guard by his bluntness,

" Huh?" She said dumbly, earning herself a few sniggers from the dragons,

" I think Tenebre here has yet to defrost her brain even though her body has already been defrosted!" Nero joked,

" My brain is in perfect condition thank you," Tenebre gave him a sharp look, " I was just caught off guard, that's all."

Then she became quiet, a conflicted look on her face,

" Tenebre?" Kori said, moving away from Nero's arms and in front of Tenebre, looking at her with concern, "Is everything ok?"

" All is fine, Kori..." Her voice trailed off, " All but one thing."

" After what happened with you and Pheles and his minions, i'm not sure it's safe for the dragons to go on Earthland..." Tenebre's eyes widened when she realised something, and her hands were immediately on Kori shoulders,

" That reminds me, how the heck did you even get on Earthland?"

Both Kori's and Nero's face darkened, and she said,

" It was roughly 2 months ago, I was just doing my normal routine, surveying my side of the Dragon Realm,"

"Then a portal opened up from beneath her, and she fell through it." Nero continued, wrapping his arms round her shoulders once more, unwilling to let her go after their painful separation,

" I barely knew what happened next, one moment everything was black, then pain, then you were there, with pretty boy right in front of my snout." Kori said,

" This has Pheles scent all over it." Tenebre growled, sounding very much like a dragon,

" But anyway, with what happened to Kori there, it's either they have a mage with Dragon Manipulation magic or Soul Control Magic, and if they have one, in which i have just killed, they will have more."

" But this only means that it is unsafe for you dragon to go to Earthland for now."

After hearing this, Igneel looked away, Metallica punched through a marble pillar, Grandine shed a tear or two, Draco looked at them in sympathy and Nero and Kori hugged each other, only Lumiere and Nero stayed neutral, their faces hidden under the shadow of their cowls.

" Are we ever going to see them ever again?" Grandine wept, her hands covering her face, Tenebre placed a comforting hand on her shoulder,

" You will see Wendy again, not just through an oracle, but in flesh, but it'll take time."

Then Lumiere stepped forward, and said,

" Though they're not our children,"

" They were our twin's children," Noir stepped forward together with her, standing right next to her,

"Weisslogia, my brother." Lumiere continued,

"Skiadrum, my brother." Noir said,

" Our brothers. " They echoed together,

**( Just in case if you guys are confused, Lumiere is Weisslogia's twin sister and Noir is Skiadrum twin brother, and let's just say the four of them are really close, that's why they say that they are all brothers.)**

" We would still like to meet them," They said,

" To both thank them for fulfilling their last wishes on their life on Earthland," Lumiere said,

" And to beat them up for killing them, a light beating nothing much." Noir said emotionlessly, though everyone felt a shiver go down their spine when they heard the malicious undertone in his voice,

" So is it possible for us to do something to help you with this problem?" The both of them said.

Tenebre thought for a moment, then a light bulb went up on top her head, and her face brightened up,

" Though bringing you guys through the gate to Earthland is a problem, bring_ them_ through the gate into the Dragon Realm is not."

Getting her drift, all the dragons attention was captured by that short sentence,

" That means that you'll be bringing Natsu/ Screwhead/ Wendy/ Stilla/ Sting Eucliffe/ that black-haired bastard back to the Dragon Realm?!"

Tenebre nodded, then looked guiltily away, and mumbled,

" The other dragons would probably kill me for not bring their children there..."

" No worries! I'm sure Igneel here would be a dear to explain the situation here to the other dragons. Am i right, dearie?" Kori said, smiling sweetly at him,

" Me? Why..." Igneel gulped under the sickly sweet smile on Kori's face,

" AM . I . RIGHT?" She said, pronouncing each word with icy clarity,

" Fine..." He gumbled, folding his arms, " I'll explain it to them."

Tenebre can't help but smile at them, but the nagging urge for her to just jump through the gate into Arcadia and to charge through everything in her way to the Heartfilia Sanctuary was getting too much for her, she slowly inched her way towards an empty space while the dragons and Marie were distracted,

_" I hope i remember how to do this correctly..."_ Tenebre thought to herself as she gathered magic quickly into her palms.

" Urm...Marie?"

Marie looked at where Tenebre was, to find nothing but blank space, then her quickly looked around to find that Tenebre was at the far end of her table.

Tenebre gave her an apologetic smile, and said,

" Settle the mess for me?"

A bright light came from behind Tenebre, a gate appeared from behind her, and she jumped through it, the gate disappearing right after she passed through it.

Marie blinked.

And again.

" Say Kori, are ya doin' something to the temperature?" Terra twanged, rubbing her arms, " It's suddenly became freezing!"

" No i'm not!" Kori huffed indignantly, " It's coming from... Marie?"

A black and purple aura surrounded Marie's petite body, her body trembled,

" TE . NE . BRE..." She growled, her eyes flashed, " YOU FUCKING BITCH! GET BACK HERE YER BASTARD!"

The dragons stared at Marie as she continued to curse like a seasoned sailor , mouth agape, Metallica nudged at a horrified looking Grandine, and said with a smug look on his face,

" See, i told cha."

**Back on Earthland ( Normal POV )**

" Gah!" Natsu grabbed his hair, finally losing his cool " What is it with you and Tenebre?! Always talking in riddles and stuff, what is it with you people?!"

" Shh! You finally got her to sleep peacefully and now you're trying to wake her up?!" Serpe hissed.

Natsu immediately slapped a hand on his mouth, but was too late. Lucy stirred in her sleep, and her eyes slowly opened.

Rubbing her eyes as she slowly sat up, Lucy groaned at the sudden soreness of her body,

" Owowowow, Mavis, why on Earthland does my body hurt so much..." She then looked to the side, and squealed, pulling up her blanket,

" Serpe! When did you get here?" She squeaked, surprised at Serpe sudden appearance, then she looked at Natsu, and screamed,

" NATSU DRAGONEEL! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT SLEEPING ON MY BED?!" She swatted her arms at him, but immediately regretted it as she felt a sudden wave of fatigue wash over her body, but before her body could come in contact with the cold hard floor, a pair, or rather, two pairs of warm arms caught her and pulled her up.

Natsu glared at Serpe, whose arms were round Lucy shoulders as they both supported her upright.

" Mavis, why do i feel so weak out of a sudden?" Lucy moaned, rubbing her forehead.

Natsu shot Serpe an accusing glare, then went back to fussing over Lucy, making sure that's she's comfortably tucked under her covers, though he went a little overboard, and made her look a tad like a upright mummy.

" Well, you kinda had a nightmare, a really bad one, and you started tossing and turning like crazy, so i held you down." Natsu explained, scratching the back of his head while looking away rather guiltily.

Lucy narrowed her eyes in suspicion,

" Hmm," She hummed, " There's something that you're not telling me."

She leaned closer to Natsu, so close that Natsu could feel her breathing in and out, his breath hitched as he caught her scent, her calming yet alluring scent.

_" Natsu...your soul mate...never leave...destined...hurt..."_

The same memory probed at Natsu's mind, but he couldn't quite remember everything,

" What exactly was Igneel trying to tell me...?" Natsu thought hard to himself, but then his thoughts were interrupted when he caught Wendy's scent and the distinctive sound of Happy and Charla's wing beats.

When they flew in straight through the window, Lucy almost got a heart attack from their sudden appearance,

" This better be serious Happy, or i'll claw your eyes out for waking us up for no reason." Charla snapped at Happy, glaring at him,

" Lucy-san, are you alright?" Wendy gushed, scrambling over to Lucy's side in her cute blue pajamas with little white bunnies on it, " Happy told me you were not looking well, so he flew to get me? Where are you not feeling well? Are you hurt? Did you eat something wrong? Are you..."

Lucy clamped a hand over Wendy's mouth to stop her yammering, and said,

"I'm feeling fine Wendy, it's just Natsu being paranoid and all, am i right, Natsu?" Lucy said, her eyes narrowing slightly at him, making him flinch at the evil glint in her eyes.

" And even if you were to know what's wrong with her, you won't be able to do anything darling." Serpe drawled.

All heads snapped to look at him when he said that, and he looked around innocently,

" I'm sorry, did i say something wrong?" He blinked innocently, completely oblivious of the suddenly tense atmosphere around him,

" You mean, there's really something wrong with me?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide as saucers,

Serpe blinked, then smacked himself in the head,

" Dammit, i said too much again!" He exclaimed, smacking himself repeatedly on his head, " Tenebre was supposed to tell you about this, me and my stupid big mouth!"

Natsu grabbed his by his coat collar, and slammed him into a wall,

" What's wrong with Lucy?!" He growled, his fist tightening around Serpe's coat, " TELL ME!"

**In Arcadia ( Normal POV )**

" Dammit, i knew this would happen!" Tenebre scolded herself in her head, as she flew away from the horde of angry angels behind her, what she did to deserve this? Let turn back the clock shall we?

**15 minutes ago...**

" Say, don't you think the flowers look especially pretty today?" the light brown haired angel bent down, and cupped her hand below the stem of a hydrangea, and took a good whiff, sighing in contentment,

" Yeah, and the weather is perfect for nap on the grass." he laid down in the grass, his grey hair swaying in the wind.

Though it wasn't long till our favourite black and platinum haired Gatekeeper came tumbling through the flower fields, literally, a gate appeared in the middle of the fields, spat Tenebre out, and disappeared with a poof.

" Ooof!" Tenebre landed flat on her face,creating a rather _slight_ dent in the fields, and skidding a few meters in a line before coming to a stop,

" Itai..." Tenebre stood up, and dusted off the dust from her face and her blue butterfly patterned black kimono top and cobalt blue shorts which she requiped into when she was travelling through the gate, and stood up,

" Ungh!" She stretched while breathing in the fresh spring air, " Man, it's been so long since i've been here, the air here smells as putrid as i remembered it to be!"

The two angels looked looked at Tenebre with gaping mouths,

" The flowers..."

" My sleeping spot..."

Without even looking at Tenebre or where she popped out from, they already knew who was it that would cause all this damage, and they growled,

" SHE'S BACK..."

**Present**

Which bring us to our current situation after she destroyed 3 fields, 17 pillars, 7 buildings and several other stuff.

" Get her/Kill her/Avenge my lizard!" All of them shouted, a cloud forming from behind them as they chased after her.

Tenebre flew faster, her invisible wings beating with increased urgency,

" I wonder why i still can use my wings even though i sealed my powers, oh well, at least they can't be seen." Tenebre thought to herself, " Well, at least i can get to the Heartfullia sanctuary faster this way, good thing i asked Seraphim for the coordinates earlier on."

The scenery changed gradually as she flew toward the northern part of Arcadia, the grass and nature looked a more natural shade of green, not the specially cultivated ones the angels there grow.

Tenebre smiled as she saw the start small blue forget-me-not flowers growing in the outskirts,

" Layla's favorite flowers..." She whispered to herself, then she realised something, and turned around, causing a gust of wind to blow through the field, scattering stray petals and grass into the wind,

" They've stopped chasing after me?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion,

" That's because they're forbidden from entering our borders, unless allowed by Seraphim herself, you're an exception though, Tenebre." A feminine voice said from behind Tenebre.

Tenebre turned around, and her eyes widened, the figure walked out from behind a willow tree, her blond hair swaying in the wind,

" Long time no see, Tenebre." Layla said, a gentle smile on her lips.

A tear slid down Tenebre's pale cheeks, then she shot off with her wings, and tackled Layla into the grass in a hug.

" Layla!" Tenebre sobbed into Layla's shoulder, her tears staining Layla's elegant pale blue long strapless dress, her tears a stark contrast against the silver sequins dotting the edges of her dress, " You're alive, i mean, dead, i mean, here!"

Layla chuckled, and lightly patted Tenebre's head,

" I'm kinda sorta alive yet dead here, Tenebre, there's not much difference between those two here in Arcadia. Though i really feel like i'm being hugged to death right now though."

Tenebre smiled as she let go of Layla, wiping her tears away with her kimono sleeves as she stood up, giving Layla a hand as she did, pulling her up along with herself.

A rustle was heard, and a blond head popped out from it, leaves stuck within her blond mess of hair,

" Layla, what's all the commotion all abou- OMYIGOD!" the blond squeaked, falling out of the bush in an ungraceful heap, quickly recovering, she pointed an accusing finger at Tenebre, brown eyes ablaze, " How did she get in?! We were not told that we had guests! Oh heck, how did she get in?!"

" Lenne, meet Tenebre, my adopted daughter, and Tenebre meet Lenne, my grandmother." Layla said, Lenne pouted, and crossed her arms over her pastel yellow chiffon dress, and said,

" You know i don't like it when you call me your grandmother ya know, i'm just a few years older than you."

" Hai hai, Lenne." But the said person wasn't listening, she was overloading Tenebre with questions, acting like a 3 year old rather than being 33.

" So how did you fly even though you don't have wings? How is it that you were able to pass through the barrier? What are you to Sera-chan? Why does your eyes and hair look so weird? Why do you have stars on your wrist? Why-"

"Hai hai, Lenne, I think Tenebre would be more than glad to answer your questions later, but for now," Layla appeared behind Tenebre," we have something to discuss, privately."

Layla steered Tenebre away from the willow tree spot, away from Lenne, who was pouting angrily from not having her questions answered, and into another part of the garden, into an ever growing cherry blossom grove, and sat down below one of the trees, pulling Tenebre down together with her.

Tenebre stared at the trees in awe as Layla chuckled at her childish expression,

" Impressive isn't it? Though this part of the garden don't belong to me though, it belongs to my mother, Lianne, she was always fond of sakura trees, but she's probably at the other end of the sanctuary having tea with the other ladies, so we can talk here in peace."

"Let me show you something, Tenebre." Layla reached behind the trunk of the cherry blossom tree she was leaning on, and brought forward a glass box full of letters,

" Are those...?" Tenebre pointed at it inquiringly,

" All these are the replies to the letters Lucy writes to me every night." Layla caressed the box lovingly, her fingers trailing the constellation engravings on the box's cover, " So i know everything that's been going on on Earthland, i also know of the things you've told...shown her as well as her frequenting dreams."

Layla's smile fell the moment she said 'dreams', then she looked at Tenebre, and asked,

" So tell me, how far along is it?"

Tenebre shooked her head, and slumped back into the trunk,

" According to Serpe, the second seal just broke today."

Layla breathed in sharply, her eyes widening as she stood up,

" So fast?! Seal 2 isn't suppose to break till she was at least 25!" She started pacing, biting her fingernails, " Don't tell me..."

Layla started muttering incoherently, her pacing increasing, flattening the grass below her feet, confusing the already very much confused Tenebre, and after a while, Tenebre had enough.

" Layla!" She shouted, " Stop panicking and just calm down, then you'll be able to think clearly. And when you've done that, mind telling me exactly what's going on?"

Tenebre's words seem snap Layla out of her frenzied thoughts, but the confused look on her face did not go away, in fact, she looked even more confused than she was just seconds ago,

" What i don't understand is how the seal got broken so fast, i made sure that it was impossible for it to be broken, or rather the conditions needed for it to be broken was made to be impossible."

" The first condition is, that she come in contact with an immortal's blood, and not just one drop, all the lifeblood of an immortal," Layla explained, drawing a line across her wrist, a serious look on her face, " And the second is..."

"Fear."

Tenebre looked startled, " Fear?"

Layla nodded,

" Overwhelmingly extreme fear."

"But the point now is that she's never came in contact with a immortal's blood, and neither did she experience such extreme fear, or at least, not that i know of..." Layla sighed wearily, and leaned onto the sakura tree for support, " But that doesn't matter now, all i know is that if we don't find a solution fast, Lucy going to die."

" Can't you just tell me what sealing method you used, then we can use the same method to reseal the Oculos Divae..." Tenebre's voice trailed off as Layla shook her head tiredly, the she said,

" I wish it was that easy, Tenebre," Layla said,"but i was only able to do the seal then as i knew that i was already close to dying, and that it wasn't fully attached to Lucy yet, so i used my already withering life to stop the complete bonding of the eyes power from flowing from me to her, and that it would slowly break as she grew older and that the eye's power would not overwhelm her body with its power."

" The last seal was estimated to break when she would be 60 or so, by then she would have lived her life the way she wanted to live and by then she would know that she would die soon by the visions the eye gives her, and that she would use the same method on the next generation when she was about to die."

"If you were to attempt to use the same method i used, not only will you put your own life in danger, Lucy herself would have zero chance of survival, all the seals would break when you try to reseal them, overwhelming her and killing her instantly."

Tenebre looked blankly at Layla wept silently, tears flowing down her pale face like sreams but not a sound came out from her throat, the Tenebre felt an overwhelming surge of anger as well as a sense of uselessness come over her, and she punched the tree beside her, her head bowed down, body trembling with anger and sadness as a wet drop fell onto the grass.

" Dammit!" She roared into the pristine blue sky, as if resenting the entire world for behind oblivious to her inner agony, " Why does this always happen to me?! Why can i ever protect the ones i love?! My parents, you, Lucy and even little Myriana!"

She punched another tree in her rage, making it collapse onto the one who fell before it, its pink petals scattering into the air, though they were soon stained black the moment they touched the black tendrils slowly forming round Tenebre's raging self, making it seem as if she was caught in her own black petaled tornado.

But she didn't seem to care as she she stared blankly into the space in front of her, black tears streaming from her blood red eyes as she fell onto her knees onto the darkened grass below her, her dead looking eyes completely devoid of any emotion and no longer it's usual gold-black flecked silver color, as if she could see nothing but the spilt blood of all her loved ones, all their bodies laying limp and lifeless in their own blood in front of her.

" No Tenebre!" Layla shouted, " Don't go to that place again!"

Layla swooped over to Tenebre, ignoring the cuts she got from the writhing black tendrils around Tenebre as she know she can't die since she's already dead, and grabbed her face with both her hands,

" Tenebre snap out it this instant!" Layla cried, desperately shaking Tenebre in an effort to snap her out of her own nightmare, " Wake up before you go too in too deep! Tenebre!"

But Tenebre stayed the same, her face vacant, though her eyes were slowly changing from blood red to something else, something...darker.

"Tenebre!"

**At the same time, back on Earthland ( Normal POV )**

Serpe's body stiffened and his eyes widened as he sensed his master's distress,

" Fuck!" He cursed suddenly, startling Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Happy and Charla, "Why now?!"

"What now?" Natsu asked, not letting go of his coat,

" Tenebre!" Serpe snapped at him, as if expecting Natsu to understand everything by that one word, " I have to go!"

" Go wha- HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Natsu attempted to grab Serpe, but got a big handful of gold dust instead, " What the hell is wrong with him?!"

" Natsu, language!" Charla chided,

" I don't know, but it has to be something serious, " Lucy said, looking worried," he looked kinda terrified though, as if something really bad happened to Tenebre. But seriously, where _is_ she?"

" No friggin idea, but the moment he gets back, i'm beating it the hell outta him." Natsu grinned evilly as he said this, cracking his knuckles, making all of them sweat drop at his obvious glee at beating someone up,

" But really, what happened just now Natsu?" Lucy flinched as she stretched her sore body, " Don't tell me nothing, cause by the looks of it, something is wrong with me, and the things Serpe said just now just confirms my suspicions, especially with the weird nightmares i've been having..."

Lucy mumbled the last part, but Natsu and Wendy heard it clearly with their heightened hearing,

" What nightmares?" Natsu said, his face serious,

Lucy shook her head, and grasped her trembling right arm,

" I can't really remember much, but there were some really strange things happening in there, some impossible things as well as some really scary things... inhumane humanoid creatures, the war-torn streets Magnolia, an anguished cry, rain of fire and brimstone and a maniac laugh ringing throughout the battlefield..." Lucy hugged herself tighter, " What was odd was that, just before i woke up, i swore i heard a feminine laugh laughing along... no that's not right... laughing _at_ the maniac, as if mocking him or maybe its just my imagination... I_ hope_ it's just my imagination."

Charla's eyes went as wide as saucers at Lucy description of her dream, greatly unnerved by its uncanny similarity with the vision she had a few days ago in Tenebre's cave,

"_ Could it be that Lucy can see the future as well_?" Charla thought,but quickly dismissed the idea, " _I'm not sure, but i should just let her continue believing that its a dream, she doesn't need to be even more freaked out than she already is to hear that what she saw was the possible future_."

" Just as a precaution, can i do a quick check up on you Lucy-san? " Wendy asked, looking at the worried look on her brother-figure's face, " Just to check if there is really something wrong?"

" Go on Wendy, i don't mind." Lucy smiled, though Wendy could see that it was faked, and that she was still very much bothered by her dream,

" Hai hai, Lucy-san! Lemme see..." Wendy's small hand emitted small greenish blue light as she used her magic to check for any abnormalities in Lucy's body, a cute forrow in between her eyebrows as she concentrated hard.

After a few minutes, the glow faded away and Wendy huffed, smiling,

" There's nothing wrong or strange detected, Lucy-san, but i think you should stay home tomorrow, you're body is awfully sore for some reason." Wendy tilted her head innocently, " Did you and Natsu-san do something just now?"

Lucy's face flared bright red and Natsu turned his face away to hide his blush at Wendy's words, something so innocent that could be heard in such a different manner,

" M-me and N-N-Natsu?!" Lucy squeaked, stumbling on her words, " Nothing happened between us Wendy! There's nothing happening between us!"

" Yeah, we're just best friends!" Natsu said.

"We didn't do anything just now Wendy, after we came back from the guild, i took a shower while Natsu and Happy were clearing out my fridge, i wrote a letter to my mother and a pages to my novel, and went to sleep." Lucy said.

" Hmm," Wendy hummed thoughtfully, muttering to herself " That's odd then..."

" What's that Wendy?"

" Ah! Ato... it's nothing Lucy-san, i was just talking to myself."

While Wendy pondered, Lucy clutched the spot above her heart, wondering to herself just why was it that she felt a clenching feeling there when she heard Natsu say that they were nothing but best friends.

They _are_ just best friends.

Right?

**Meanwhile, at the Heartfilia's sanctuary on Arcadia, ( Normal POV )**

" Tenebre!"

Layla's head snapped to the spot behind her, to see Serpe appear there in a shower of gold dust, rushing to his master's side,

"What happened?!" He growled at Layla, demanding to know,

" I think telling her that there wasn't anyway we could help Lucy triggered some sort of memory, she mentioned something about a Myriana?"

Serpe flinched when he heard the name, the memory of a bouncing gray haired little girl with bright blue eyes flashed in his head,

" Fuck, of all memories, why_ that_ one?" He seethed,

" I've only seen this happen to her once before, but that time didn't look so bad," Layla winced as another black tendril licked her skin, creating a dark crimson line, " Who is this Myriana? Tenebre never mentioned her to me before?"

" She never mentioned her before because she doesn't want to remember her, in one of the darkest periods in Tenebre's early life, she was the one who brought hope and light to her, but it was taken away from Tenebre in a manner that would scar her deeply and painfully forever, a scar that will never heal, thus, this state."

" She only become like this when she lets her negative emotions take over or when she feel nothing but utter despair."

" So what do we do now?" Layla asked,

" Grab her hand." Serpe said, grabbing Tenebre left while Layla grabbed her right hand,

" Now think of all the happy times you've had together, and concentrate hard and try to channel all that positive energy into her," Serpe said, doing so himself, his slitted eyes hard,

" And the rest now, is up to Tenebre."

* * *

**What's happening to Tenebre? What did Wendy find odd? What's that clenching feeling Lucy's feeling? Will Natsu remember Igneel's words? Find out next time on Chapter 16 : Bonds! This time, we'll be shedding some light on the evil villain, Pheles, but then again...is he really evil?**

* * *

**Preview on Chapter 16 : Bonds**

" So it's this again..."

" Natsu-san, did you..."

" This has to end..."

" Pheles-sama, you're doing great..."

" It's time..."

* * *

**Yep, and finally on the next chapter more on our big bad guy Pheles is revealed, as well as a rather shocking connection he has. Ooooooo... the plot thickens...**

**Just in case if some of you didn't read my earlier AN, i did mention i am rewriting some of my earlier chapters due to major errors, i can't believe i didn't realise them before ( Knocks head on wall ), urgh, i'm so careless.**

**To all who have followed this story this far, i think i've said this a lot of times, but a big thank you to you all! Wow, Chapter 15 already! Should i do something special for my 20th chapter? Hmm, i'll leave it up to you all! Leave a review or PM if ya all have any requests or just random ranting to me!**

**Remember to leave a review!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


	16. Chapter 16 - Bonds

**AN : Another chappie! Yay! Enjoy reading it peeps! AND WHOO! GO 6 CHAPTERS OF FAIRY TAIL!**

* * *

******Previously on GOTEG : Tenebre**

" Where is she?"

" Tenebre?"

" Are we ever going to see them ever again?"

" I'm sorry, did i say something wrong?"

" No Tenebre!"

" M-me and N-N-Natsu?!"

" And the rest now, is up to Tenebre."

* * *

Chapter 16 : Bonds

* * *

**Darkness ( Tenebre's POV )**

Darkness.

This was what i call this place.

Cause there's nothing but darkness.

Next would probably be Pain.

True to my word, the darkness shifted, to show me being chained up in a flaming pit of poisonous Gehennian vipers, thorns and other hellish creatures, all taking turns to slowly inject their venom into my small, frail, wailing body.

I was just 2 years old then.

I stared at my younger self with a steely gaze, as i saw myself wail and struggle against my bonds and against the pain.

Futile.

I wanted to scream, but for what, it's just a vision of my past, nothing would change.

They dumped my limp battered body into a room, and locked me up, for fear that i would run away and reveal their secret.

Me.

The door clicked open, and a pair of blue eyes peered in, and i felt the air get sucked out from my lungs.

"Myriana." I gasped out loud, and squeezed my eyes shut as a barrage of images crash through my head, " So it's this again..."

How did i even get here in Darkness in the first place?

Ah, that's right.

Lucy. The Eye.

Now's not the time to think of that, i have to get out of here first.

I turned a whole round, but all i saw were different memories of my time in Arcadia and Gehenna, from the time i was taken to the time Seraphim and Mephisto finally found out about me.

No light.

No exit.

Only Darkness, Pain, Despair, Hopelessness.

" Eeep! Are you ok?"

I looked at Myriana's image as she frantically tried to do something to help my younger self, a pained smile on my face as i remembered the times we were together, as well as the look on her face as she was taken from me.

A scream was heard from behind me, and when i turned around to look, i saw myself frantically trying to fight off an entire pack of hellhounds with nothing but a single shard of demonglass.

Blood dripped from her hand as she gripped hard on its jagged edge,she cowered under their hungry eyes, tears threatening to fall from my younger self's eyes as she whimpered.

A whip came from above the arena, and it's deadly tongue lashing at her back, making her howl out in pain.

" Stand up and fight you bitch! " Ture's grating voice rang from the grandstand, her face alight with delight as she flicked her whip at her granddaughter," Shit like you don't deserve to feel pain! Stand up and continue entertaining us!"

Howls and catcalls rang from the arena as the crowd demanded for bloodshed, my blood.

Only a few looked on disapprovingly, but not saying a word for fear of being outcasted by their kind,

Little Myriana and her family frowned at Ture's obvious pleasure at her own kin's suffering, as well as the other aristocrats sitting at the grandstand, though they too were sitting at the lower levels of the grandstand for they are considered as an important family in Gehenna, they've always been different from the rest.

Another scream was heard, though this time, it did not belong to me.

And i knew all too well what i was about to see.

Dacne sneered at the flailing figure of little Myriana as he held her up by her hair, her parent's screams from behind him, unable to help her for they were being held back by guards.

Though she looked like a normal 7 year old girl, she was actually a really wise 167 years old demon, a prodigy for her age in demon terms, the only reason why her family were part of the top dogs.

" So the little smart ass here is the reason why our special training programme hasn't been going as planned?" Dacne pulled harder on her hair, making her yelp out in pain,

" Special, my arse! It's just plain brutality! Wait till Mephisto-sama hears about this! He'll never forgive you for hiding her from him!" Myriana spat back, the murderous tone in her voice matching the deadly look in her eyes, she then smirked when she saw him turn pale, knowing that she struck a nerve, she rode on her momentum,

" What's this? Afraid that your precious position as one of Gehenna's elites be overthrown by a little girl?"

A slap rang through the room, a red mark on Myriana's cheek as Ture turned red,

" S-Shut up you insolent brat!" She stuttered, " Remember who you're talking to here!"

All Myriana did was to laugh, loud mocking laughter,

" Seriously, making use of your title to intimidate _me_, personal advisor to the Royal Brothers? **( AN : Remember this people, it's important for later )** HAHAHAHA! What a joke, Councillor Ture and Councillor Dacne!"

Despite knowing what's coming next, i can't help but smile at seeing those idiots get owed by someone that's at least a few centuries younger than them, though that smile was quickly swiped away with Ture's next words,

" Mephisto will never hear about this, everything that happens here, happens here. Nothing escapes." She said with a maniacal look in her eyes as she raised her hands, claws forming.

As if she already knew this was coming, she turned to look a my crumpled figure on the ground, desperately trying to move her body to save her, and mouthed the words, smiling brightly,

_" Be happy. Be free._"

And the claws descended.

Blood and mutilated organ spilled everywhere.

Scream were heard as they tore apart every living inch of her body into shreds.

" Next." Dacne said, licking his bloodied claws as he approached her parents.

I clenched my fists as i saw myself break in front of me, the first people to treat her not as a piece of trash but as an equal brutally murdered in front of my eyes.

" This is all your fault. If you'd left them alone, they would still be alive by now." Ture brought forward the hearts of the family, and dropped them in front of her, a sickening grin on her blood smeared face, " This is all _your_ fault!"

As if i wasn't broken enough, the remaining shards of my soul was further trampled on as i was force fed their hearts, practically shoving the organs down my throat,

" Look at you!" a crazed look on their faces as they forced me to eat, " A disgusting creature! Eating the organs of the very people who treated her nicely! Nothing but a monster!"

Black tears flowed freely from my younger self's face as she was tortured further, her broken self moving robotically as she was forced to further desecrate their bodies, her soiled hand ripping shreds of flesh from their carcases, her clouded eyes staring blankly down, as Dacne and Ture laughed on.

The doors then slammed open, and Mephisto and Seraphim stormed in their full glory, fury in their eyes.

Seraphim immediately went to my side, gently coaxing me to stop doing what i was doing, telling me i do not have to follow their orders anymore, then she picked up my limp, brutalised body personally, and returned to Mephisto's palace, to her quarters, to try and heal me.

Too bad.

What's broken.

Is hard to heal.

Turns out, Myrania knew that they were coming for her, and minutes before they captured her, she used the king's ravens and sent a letter to both Mephisto and Seraphim, informing them of my plight, of my very existence.

My days after that accident passed in a blur, i continued my 'studies' despite Seraphim's fervent protests, two seasons in Arcadia, the other two in Gehenna.

I lost my emotions.

I lost my personality.

I continued each day like a programmed robot. Studying under the best warriors, teachers, scribes sent by Seraphim and Mephisto as part of their conditions for continuing my studies.

It wasn't long till i was ready for missions. I was the best, the most powerful, invincible, and immortal as well. Missions that would annihilate entire squadrons would be completed with ease with multiple life-threatening wounds on me, for i felt no pain, no sorrow.

Centuries later, i was sent away to become the Gatekeeper, i learnt many new magics, met many new people, made many new friends, but i never smiled, not even once.

Not till a few decades later.

Not till Layla.

She gave me a name, an identity other than 'Monster','Abomination' or simply 'Gatekeeper'. She taught me to smile, to cry, to emote. That emotions are not bad, they make one strong instead.

But then again, she was taken from me too.

_" Hmm, a nice lady, Layla is it?" _A voice said from behind me, my head snapped back and my eyes widened, my mouth dropping open,

_" What? "_ A semi-solid Myriana tilted her head to the side, an amused smile on her face, _" Miss me?"_

" Wha..?"

_" Oh come on, it's been so long since we've seen each other and 'Wha?' is all you can say to me? You're wasting the efforts of your friends out there! Sending all that positive energy to you, making it possible for me to materialise. " _She crossed her arms, glaring at me.

_" What in Mephisto's fine ass are you doing here? I thought i told you to be happy? Noooooo, here you are, moping over the past, blahblahblah." _

I shook my head, sinking further into Darkness,

" It's useless, happiness isn't meant for me, everyone that i come in contact with dies. I'm better off alone- MMFFFFTT!"

I tried pulling her hand from my mouth, but the look in her eyes stopped me,

_" Oh big fucking Seraphim boob! Look, have any of the dragons died?"_ She spat at me.

I shook my head.

_" Have any Faeries died? Have any Otherworlders died? Have any of your human friends died? Has LUCY died?"_

_" ALL of them came in contact with you, and ALL of them are still alive. So what cha moaning about? Get your big fat crissed crossed ass outta here and do something already! Who says there's no hope for Lucy? There is always hope you big blathering blubber head!"_

The blackness beside her shivered, and gave way to show Layla and Serpe in the sakura grove.

_" See? There are people that care about you, people that are waiting for you! Move on from me, i'm in a happy place with my family, lot of FINNNNE guys there!"_

She waggled her eyebrows at me knowingly, and i can help but let a giggle escape me, and she smiled,

_" See, smiling suits you? You shouldn't have lost it then you know?"_

I wiped moisture from my eyes, and smiled back at her,

" Yeah, i know."

A minute passed as we drank in each other's presence, but not before i received a flying kick from Myriana, semi-solid as she is, it still packs a punch.

" What was that for?!" I glared at her,

_" What in Mephisto's fine 6 packs are you still here gaping at me for, get out there already, look, there's the exit! Get out already!"_

" Ok ok, i'm going."

I walked towards the soft yellow glow, but just before i went through it, i can't help but feel it will be the last time i'll be seeing her, i turned around and said,

" Just before i go, i just wanted to say, that you for being my first friend, i'll never forget you, ever."

With those words finally off my chest, i walked into the light, back to where i'm needed.

**( Normal POV )**

Myriana smiled at Tenebre's words,though she wasn't the only one smiling,

" She's grown up hasn't she?"

Mavis materialised beside Myriana, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

" Are you okay?"

Myraina sniffed and said,

" Yeah i'm fine, just got a little emotional..." And she burst into tears, " My little girl has grown up! WAAAHHH!"

Mavis sighed and patted her head,

" There there. And you realise she's older than you now?"

" All the more reason for me to cry! WAHHHH!"

But she then calms down, and wiped away her tears,

" Well, i guess that settles it then. I no longer have a reason to linger in this world anymore."

Her body started disappearing, starting from her legs,

" It's time for you to rest, you've stayed here long enough, i'll watch over her in your stead." Mavis said, sounding very mature,

" Ha, by the Celestial King's beard, you'd better!" Myriana chortled, half her body gone by now,

" I'll miss you, especially how you always use body parts as curse preferences." Mavis grinned,

" By Mephisto's flaccid-"

"Right, that's enough!" Mavis cut her off, and Myriana laughed,

" I'll miss you as well, take care, Mavis..."

And with that, she disappeared.

" Rest well my friend." Mavis lifted her hand, lifting up the Fairy Tail farewell sign.

**Back at the Heartfilia Sanctuary ( Normal POV ) **

" Hey, the wind stopped!" Layla said, loosening her hold on Tenebre,

" Yeah, this means she's snapped outta it," Serpe smiled grimly, wiping blood from his forehead, " Weird though, it normally lasts at least a few hours whenever it comes to Myriana. Was there something different this time?"

"Yes there was."

Tenebre's body shuddered as if she just woke from a really long dream, her eyes returning back to normal,

" Myriana was there."

Serpe's eyes bugged out like a goldfish as Layla just look at her with a confused expression,

" There?! As in there?! Like really-"

" Yes, for the third time Serpe, THERE, in Darkness." Tenebre wiped away her black tear stains with her sleeve, before taking a good look at the cuts on Layla's arms, and grimaced,

" Lemme guess, personal tornado, black tendrils and black tears?" She asked while healing up Layla, as well as whipping out a new sky blue floor length off shoulder dress, which just to add, matches her little silver flats perfectly, for her to change to, which she helped Layla into by giving her a quick spin, and voila, changed, all while keeping a perfectly neutral face.

" Yeah," Layla replied woozily, while grabbing onto Tenebre's shoulder, trying to steady herself from the spin, " With red eyes too."

" What happened in there? This happened before, i know, since i saw it happen, but it didn't look that bad that time." Layla's inquisitive side took over once she felt better, drilling Tenebre for answers,

" What you saw, was only me getting really _really_ stressed out, i just shut down, and only black tears and tornado, that's the less serious one. This one however, is one that can only be triggered with a really really _really_ negative emotion or scarring memory."

" I first found out this _ailment_ of mine when i was in a mock battle with some elite archangels, one of them got stabbed at the exact same spot where Myrianna got stabbed through, and snap, my first breakdown, when i came too, which was 3 weeks later in Seraphim's bedchamber, i realised i killed all of them, or rather, the whirling black tendrils got to them."

" I then added self-control lessons into my schedule, learning to control my emotions, keeping memories from resurfacing and so on. It got better, that's all i can say, but it resurfaces every now and then, but not on a whim like when i just got it."

" I guess watching Myriana die in front of me was enough to trigger such a side effect." Tenebre laughed bitterly, pure anguish on her face.

Layla looked worriedly at Tenebre, only sparing Serpe a quick glance to see how he was, he was as solemn as his master was, only standing by her side, a hand on her shoulder to show that he was there, that he cared.

" Right, enough with the sob moments." Tenebre snapped her fingers, activating her Time Ark magic to fix the mess she made in the grove, " I've wasted enough time here already."

" Layla, i promise i'll be back sometime soon, or at least i hope, but i have to leave now."

Layla smiled and waved her hands dismissively, and said,

" It's ok, but you better keep it, for a Celestial Mage-"

" Never breaks her promises." Tenebre finished with a wide grin, Layla grinned back and patted her cheek in a motherly gesture,

" That's my girl, now go on and find a way save your sister." Layla said, turning Tenebre around and pushing her forward,

" Yes mom."

Layla then gave Serpe a quick peck on his cheek, and said,

" Take care of your master ok Serpe?"

" I will." He replied solemnly, then followed behind Tenebre who was standing beside the gate she created, and both of them walk through it.

" So that's the girl you were talking to me about." Jude walked to Layla, who was waving goodbye to them, and clasped her free hand,

" Yep, That's her." Layla leaned back into Jude's body, having stopped waving the moment the gate disappeared, and sighed, " She's just as reckless as ever."

" Well, according to the stories you've told me about her, if she ain't reckless, she isn't herself then." Jude said, smiling gently at Layla as he wrapped his arms round her waist,

" True," Layla then frowns worriedly, " I really do hope that she find a solution for Lucy though, i don't want to see Lucy here even before she gets to live her life to the fullest."

" All we can do now Layla, is to hope for the best."

**Back on Earthland ( Normal POV )**

" Well, since mostly everything has been settled, i think we all should head home now, " Wendy said, looking at Lucy's lacrima clock, " It's getting quite late."

" You're right, " Lucy said, " sorry for bothering you at this time, Wendy. Thank you for coming as well."

" No problem Lucy-san! I'm always glad to be of service!" Wendy chirped, smiling brightly, she was about to leave through the door when she remembered something,

" Ah!" She exclaimed, then grabbing Natsu by his arm and dragging him out the door as well, " I'll be borrowing Natsu-san for a while, good night Lucy-san!"

And with that, the apartment went quiet, with only Happy, Charla and Lucy in it.

" I wonder what Wendy is telling Natsu." Charla crossed her arms over her nightdress, her cat eyes eying the door in suspicion as her head whirled with thoughts about her vision, making a mental note to approach Cana for a reading on Lucy and Tenebre.

**Outside Lucy's apartment **

Once they were out of hearing range, Wendy let go of Natsu's arm, and turned around to look at him, her arms crossed and her face serious.

Sensing the tense aura round her, Natsu asked,

" Did you find anything wrong?"

Wendy faced changed from that of seriousness to that of one that is of confusion,

" I don't know, Natsu-san. I did a quick check and there's nothing wrong with her body, but as i tried to delve deeper, i couldn't, something was blocking me from doing so, but i did find something else though."

" Natsu-san, did you perhaps _mark_ Lucy-san as your mate?"

Wendy's sudden question surprised Natsu, so much that it finally triggered the right memory in his dense head, and his eyes widened in realisation, but just to make sure, he asked Wendy,

" What do you mean?"

" Well, after my examination, i felt something similar to Natsu-san's magic surrounding Lucy-san, at first i thought it was because Natsu-san was standing next to me, but then i thought about it, and i found it quite similar to the protection mating mark Grandine told me about when she talked to me about mating."

" So did you by any chance mark Lucy-san as your mate?" Wendy crossed her arms, her dark brown eyes looking at Natsu seriously.

Natsu thought for a moment, looking up into the sky as he did, and stared up confusingly at it,

" I don't recall having done so... I think..." He thought out loud, scratching the back of his head.

" What about that time Lucy-san brought you back home when you were drunk?" Wendy prompted.

" I don't remember much," Natsu shook his head, " My memory of what happened that night's fuzzy."

" Maybe this'll help." Wendy's hand reached forward to Natsu's head, and blue magic circle appeared on top Natsu's head,

" Clarity. " She chanted, a bright blue light flashed from her hand, momentarily blinding Natsu, but the blindness helped Natsu remember the events that happened that night.

The moment he did, his eyes widened even more, and not caring about the fact that Wendy was still there, he cursed.

" Fuck!"

**( Flashback, 3 weeks ago )**

" Ne Natsu, don't you think you're drinking a tad too much?" Lucy looked worriedly at Natsu, who was downing his 47th glass of firewhiskey, " Ya look kinda tipsy already!"

" Tipseeey? Whazzat?" He slurred, waving to Mira for another glass, a lazy grin on his face, " I'm juzz getting staaarted!"

And he downed another glass.

Slamming down his glass, he walked drunkenly towards one of the many bar fights occurring around the guild, and punched one guild mate with a surprising amount of strength , sending him flying.

It wasn't long till the effects of alcohol finally kicked in, and his reflexes were too slow to dodge an incoming attack, and he too, was sent flying, but unfortunately for him, he was sent flying in the wrong direction.

He was sent flying, in the direction of Erza's table.

Good thing for him though, that she just finished her cake and was just getting up, so she was able to catch him.

" Natsu." She held him up by his collar, and looked him in the face with her scary brown eyes, " You're drunk, go home."

" Don't wannaa!" He struggled under Erza's grip, but was unable to snake out of her grip.

Ignoring his protest, Erza dragged him towards the direction of the bar, and dumped him in front of Lucy.

" Lucy, take him home, i think he's had enough fun for tonight."

" Eh? Why me?"

" Cause you're the only one who knows where he lives," Erza pointed out, then she lifted him by his collar like a kitten, right in front of Lucy's face, " so you're the only one for the job."

Lucy sighed, and shrugged one of his arms round her shoulder, and waved goodbye to Erza.

" See ya tomorrow Erza."

With that, she trudged in the direction of her home, knowing that drunk or not, Natsu would appear in her house one way or another.

" Mffmm..." Natsu mumbled, " Luce, is that you?"

" Yes Natsu, now stop moving, you're making it hard for me to carry you." Lucy said, hefting his arm up more securely around her shoulders, but also moving his face closer to her neck at the same time.

Natsu breathed in, and caught the whiff of Lucy's scent, and unconsciously snuggled closer, making Lucy blush,

" Natsu! What do you think you're-" She squeaked, but was cut off by Natsu,

" Ya smell nice Luce..." He mumbled, moving closer to her neck.

" I smell WHAT?!" Lucy shrieked,

Moving by instinct, he pushed her up against the alley wall, pinning her beneath his arms, making Lucy blush cherry red as well as making her unable to escape his embrace. Moving his face closer to her neck, he took a deep sniff, then he bit her. He bit down just hard enough to pierce the skin as well as to draw a little blood before he was shoved away, slamming against the opposite wall of the ally, what she didn't realise was the almost feral look in his onyx black eyes before it disappeared along with the faint outline of scales on his face and arms when his back hit the wall.

" Natsu! How dare you!" Lucy shouted while grasping her neck, blushing a deep shade of red at his close proximity, " I'm not your food!"

But Natsu was only conscious long enough to hear her finish her indignant shout before falling into alcohol induced sleep, slumping onto the floor in a drooling limp heap.

**( Flashback end ) **

But that was all Natsu needed to remember, the fact that he let his instincts take over him in that brief moment, and the fact that he marked Lucy as his mate.

But instead of feeling happy about the fact that he found his mate and that he has already marked her, all he felt was dread and utter horror.

He just marked Lucy.

LUCY.

His supposed best friend and teammate. And without her permission as well.

Sure, he felt weirdly at ease yet flustered around her, but never in a million years would he have thought that the weird, sometimes unpredictable, mood-swing prone Lucy would be his mate.

" Ano, Natsu-san?" Wendy called out to him worriedly, waving her hand in front of his dumbstruck face, " Did you perhaps, recall something?"

" I marked Lucy as my mate." He said uncertainly, partly to clarify with himself,

Wendy blinked, and said,

" Natsu-san, can you repeat what you've just said?"

" I marked Lucy as my mate." He repeated, this time with more certainty, his slow brain finally registering the fact.

Then, at the same time, both their minds finally digested this new piece of information, they screamed.

" HOLY FRIGGIN SHIT I MARKED LUCY AS MY MATE?!"

" YOU MARKED LUCY-SAN AS YOUR MATE?!"

" You marked her without her approval? " Wendy said, trembling a little, fearing for her older brother " You abandoned the Acceptance?"

" Who abandoned the Acceptance?" A gruff voice said from behind them, and stepping out from the shadows was Gajeel, his red eyes gleaming from the darkness of the night. " Salamander did? Wait, he's got a mate? Well i'll be damned!" He scoffed.

" Can it, Tin Can. I'm not in the mood." Natsu growled, glaring at Gajeel, " What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

" What's got your pants up in a knot Salamander? I was just passing by while on my way home. " Gajeel said, narrowing his eyes, " Now what's this about you abandoning the Acceptance?"

" Natsu-san marked Lucy-san as his mate, without telling her and without her permission."

" I'm sorry Natsu-san! I should've warned you or something..." Wendy trembled for a moment, and was in motion for a 90 degrees bow, but she was stopped halfbow when Natsu's hand shot forward, who had already anticipated Wendy's actions.

Wendy looked up to see Natsu shake his head, the solemn look on his face an odd contrast from his usual cheerful look.

" No, it's not your fault Wendy. It's mine."

" Yeah, it's his mess, so he should be the one to settle it." Gajeel said, crossing his arms, " So speak, how do propose you solve this mess, Salamander? Dragonslayer traditions are not to be taken lightly ya know, it can be exceedingly painful for both parties if things were to go wrong during the process, didn't your red lizard tell you that?"

" It's Igneel, not red lizard, and he's a dragon, not lizard!" Natsu huffed out in annoyance, his face livid with anger.

" Of course he told me about it, but only just remembered it just now..." He mumbled his last few words, but Gajeel and Wendy still heard it. Earning him a well deserved punch to his head and kick to his shin.

" Ow! What the hell was that for?" He glared at the both of them as he nursed his bruised shin and head.

" You-"

" YOU IDIOT!" Wendy screeched, acting purely on impulse, cutting Gajeel off, catching the both of them by surprise, " How could you have forgotten something so important?!"

She quickly covered her mouth after her outburst, and was just as quick to apologise,

" I'm sorry, i didn't mean to say that...i did but...i didn't...hoe!" Wendy stuttered, at a lost for words in her flustered state.

But instead of what she was expecting, all the both of them did was to chuckle, and to mess up her hair,

" Gi hi, looks like our lil' sis here has grown up!" Gajeel said, glowing in brotherly pride, " About time you follow in her lead eh, Salamander?"

" Hey, what is that supposed to mean?!" Gajeel ignored Natsu's indignant cry, and continued saying,

" THAT MEANS you have to smarten up a bit you idiot!" Gajeel smacked him in the head again, " Midget here is right, but that empty head of yours is not the problem now, how YOU'RE gonna fix this problem is!"

" Oi Wendy, did ya happen to see a mark here on Bunny Girl's neck?" Gajeel pulled down his collar to point at the side of his neck, " Like a fire brand or a dragon or somethin'."

" Hmm, come to think about it, i did see something, like the beginnings of a dragon's snout," Wendy said, and quickly added, " I could be seeing wrongly or maybe it was just the reflection of the light or something!"

" Well if Wendy here saw correctly, that solves it then!" Gajeel flung his hands up in the air, " Gah! I should've said this earlier, that've saved me a hell lot more time!"

Gajeel glared straight into Natsu's eyes, red meeting black, and said,

" Dude, if that mark progresses any more, that shows that the both of ya have mutual feeling for each other. Heck, the fact that the bloody mark is even there where you bit her shows that Bunny-girl's got feelings for ya."

" I'm tellin' ya, tell her already, then the both of you could get down and-"

" Gajeel-san!" Wendy cried out, a pink tink the shade of Natsu's hair on both their cheeks " You said too much!"

" Well, i was just sayin'. " Gajeel waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

" Can all of you keep your volume down? I just barely managed to convince Lucy to go back to sleep you know?"

All of them turned back to see a rather annoyed Charla floating with Happy at her back, her arms crossed over her nightdress.

" Lucy-san's asleep? " Wendy sighed in relief, a hand on her chest, " That's good, rest is something she definitely needs right now, after finding out about something so shocking."

" Find out? What did she find out?"

" Well-"

" It's none of your business Scrap Metal."

" Well I"M gonna make it MY business since she's Shrimp's best friend, so spit it out." He said gruffly, looking away while crossing his arms, a faint blush on his cheeks.

" Shrimp?" Natsu said, confused,

" Oh, you mean Levy-san?" Wendy clarified, " Ah~ So what Mira-san said was-"

" Right that's enough from you!" Gajeel covered Wendy's mouth with haste, to prevent his not-so-secret secret from being compromised. " That devious barmaid..." He muttered vehemently.

" Oooo, you and Levy eh?" Natsu grinned, lifting an eyebrow knowingly.

" Wipe that smile off yer face before i do it fer ya!" Gajeel growled at Natsu.

" Oh, is that a challenge i hear, Junk for Brains?" Natsu grinned, flexing his muscles,

" Bring it on, Pinky!" Gajeel got into his battle stance, when a potted plant fell onto his head,

" Hey! Shut it down there! " A voice screamed from above them.

" I think that's our cue to go home, Gajeel-san, Natsu-san." Wendy glanced sheepishly at the flat above them, and yawned, " I guess i'll head home first then, take care of Lucy-san for the night for me Natsu-san!"

"Charla, let's go." And with that, Wendy flew away with Charla into the night.

" I'd better get some answers tomorrow Salamander." Gajeel shot Natsu another glare, this one less intense than his normal ones, " And solve that Acceptance asap i tell ya!"

Then he too, trudged his way home, leaving Natsu and Happy behind.

" Ne, Natsu." Happy curled up sleepily on Natsu's head, " Let's head back too."

" Yeah, lets." Then he and Happy went back into Lucy's apartment.

As soon as they entered the building, and pair of red eyes peered out from the shadow of a tree, and narrowed.

" This has to end..." a disembodied voice hissed. " This cannot be allowed to happen... _It'll_ get tainted..."

**? ( Normal POV )**

Meanwhile, while all our dear protagonists were busy with their problems, somewhere far, _far_ away, deep down into the earth,our dear antagonist wasn't slacking off, he or _they_ were in fact, preparing for their next moves.

" Hmm, hmm, okay, you may return."

A red eyed blue feathered bird flew over to the outstretched hand, and sunk into the pale skin in a shower of dulled gold dust.

" What was that about, Madonna." Pheles moaned, his head laying the said woman's lap.

She giggled, a sweet tinkling sound like the sound of wind chimes, but if listened to closely, it held a tinge of insanity and darkness, really uncharacteristic for someone of her race.

" Shh, it's nothing so you can continue resting, Pheles-sama." She said, smiling gently, looking him over with gentle dull silver eyes, continuing to caress his shoulder length black hair,

" I can just sense success already," He raised his hand to the ceiling , as if grasping 'success' itself, a maniacal grin in his golden eyes," With an emotionally-compromised Gatekeeper and Dragonslayer, they're just making it easier and easier to fulfill my goal!"

" Just a bit more, a bit more till i can possess her completely!" And he dozed off.

" Yessss," Madonna urged him, her hand now emitting a harsh rusty brown colour as she continued to stroke his head,, her gentle smile turned up into a crazed grin, " Just a bit more, Pheles-sama, you're doing great..."

_"..." _

Her last few words were muttered, but the tone of her voice was suddenly so cold, so harsh, that it woke the momentarily unresponsive Pheles from his slumber for a short moment, and her personality changed in a split second, the harsh lines on her porcelain face instantly replaced with gentle ones.

" I'm sorry, did i wake you up, Pheles-sama?" She asked, her voiced thickly laced with concern.

" No you didn't," He sat up, pushing himself off the plush couch, and fixed his attire, his face serious, " I sensed one of my underlings approaching."

Right on cue, a hand pushed away the curtains that blocked Pheles's private booth, and a platinum-blond haired lady with green eyes peered in, and knelt down,

" Master, the preparations are all done and set to go. We can be deployed at any time." She reported, and bowed out the booth and back into the throne room.

" Good. Finally, it's time." Pheles stood up, with one hand drawing up the curtains, he glanced back at Madonna, and smiled, " I'll be back soon Madonna."

Before he left, he picked up an antique photo frame from the table beside him, a picture of 3 in its bronze frame, one of which was Pheles himself, and sneered it, especially at the black haired male whose arms were round the white haired female's shoulders.

Slamming it back down, leaving an impressive crack on the table, he snarled,

" She's MINE, big brother. She, of all the things you've taken from me, is one thing i'll never give up to you."

And he walked out the booth into the throne room, leaving Madonna alone to her own devices.

" Now..." Her silver eyes flashed from behind her smoke white hair, and she grinned, " Time for me to make my own preparations..."

.

.

.

_... you're doing great..._

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_...AS MY PUPPET..._

* * *

**Who's this Madonna lady and what's her motive? What has to end? How will Natsu settle the Acceptance with Lucy and what is the Acceptance? Will Tenebre find a solution? Find out next time on Chapter 17 of Gate of the Eternal Guardian : Assault!**

* * *

**Preview on Chapter 17 : Assault **

" The time has come..."

" I've something to confess to you..."

" This cannot be delayed any longer, you HAVE to know NOW!"

" WHY?!"

" PHELES!"

* * *

**AN : And that's that for Chapter 16! Hope ya all enjoyed reading this chapter! Say, did anyone of you manage to pieces Pheles and Madonna's appearances to two other characters of my story ?** ( Hint : Chapter 13 ) **Well, it'll be revealed sooner or later so stay tuned to find out** ( winks )**!**

**AND HELL YEAH! 6 CHAPTERS OF FAIRY TAIL! 150 PAGES BABY! GO MASHIMA-SENSEI! ( though he can be suuch a major troll at times, he's a nice person eh? )**

**To all reading this, reviewers and followers, big thank you to all you lovelies! Virtual brownies to ya all!**

**Leave a review or PM if ya like!**

**Ja Ne!**

**~KanaeHitomi~**


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